Justin Barcia gives update after scary Anaheim AMA Supercross crash

Justin Barcia was able to return home from hospital a day after his scary Anaheim 1 AMA Supercross crash.

Barcia went down on the opening lap of the 450SX Main Event in Anaheim, the Troy Lee Designs Ducati rider landing on Malcolm Stewart after the Husqvarna rider was forced to roll the triple at the end of the second rhythm section because of his proximity to Ken Roczen to his left.

Stewart got away with a shoulder injury, but was otherwise okay. He’ll have to miss a currently unknown number of races as he recovers. Barcia, on the other hand, was knocked out in the crash and was taken to hospital. There, it was discovered he had suffered a fractured spinal wing, but was otherwise okay and was cleared to return home.

Barcia’s recovery time is as yet unknown but he provided an update in a video posted to Instagram on 11 January, the day after his crash.

“Scary night yesterday,” Barcia said. “Tough practice sessions, qualifier went better, and then the Main Event wasn’t good. 

“Unfortunately, someone [Stewart] rolled the triple, I was already committed. I’m pretty sure that’s all I remember from there. Tough one. 

“I am happy to say I was able to walk out of the hospital under my own power. 

“I got extremely lucky, God was looking after me yesterday. It was a really scary one, it really shows you [that] one minute it can be going good and the next minute it can be gone like that. 

“I’m extremely beat up; I’ve, throughout my career, had some heavy hits, but this one is the heaviest of them. I’ve never been so sore in my life; I can’t really move my neck, my back hurts really bad – that was the big worry for us, my back, and I got away with it good. 

“I only broke a little wing on my back, so no surgery, my spine is stable, everything is really good. 

“So, just need to recover from hear on out, but I’m thinking my body’s feeling okay. Obviously, it’s really sore, I think the next few days will show a lot more stuff, but, all-in-all, I think we’re good. 

“I haven’t seen the crash yet, don’t really want to see it, I heard it was pretty bad.”

The first round of the season also saw Barcia on the Ducati for the first time in a race, having joined the Bologna brand for its first season of AMA Supercross over the winter. Obviously, Barcia’s crash meant he couldn’t finish the race, but his teammate Dylan Ferrandis brought his factory Desmo450 MX to the finish in ninth place.

The 2026 AMA Supercross season continues this weekend (17 January) in San Diego.