Page 94 - ISSUE 40

MARVIN MUSQUIN
450 SX / 15TH
IMAGE / MPG WORDS / ECKERT DESIGN / WILSON
>> Having finally entered the win column in the premier class earlier this season in Arlington, Marvin Musquin’s season was turned upside down last weekend in Toronto after a season- worst 13th place finish. The bad result can absolutely be credited to the illness that Musquin was suffering from during the event but with another seven days of recovery, Marvin was hop- ing to turn around his luck. With multiple top five finishes and barely holding onto 3rd place in the point standings over Cole Seely in 4th, Marvin entered round ten in Daytona desperately needing to gain points back. Lined up in heat two, Marvin didn’t get the greatest of jumps but stopping the Red Bull KTM machine enough to hold the inside line, the #25 came out with a top-five start. Following the first turn, the French rider made quick work of Davi Millsaps and slid into 3rd as the abbreviated first lap concluded. Getting by teammate Ryan Dungey, Mus- quin put the hammer down for the remaining four laps behind Eli Tomac, taking his 2nd place all the way home. The performance was a good sign for Musquin to bounce back but the main didn’t start for Marvin under normal circumstances. On the inside gate, just left of Jason Anderson, Marvin reacted to a flinch by Jason, which resulted in the KTM blowing through
the gate, flipping it over and hesitating his steed as the field took off in front of him. Marvin handled the hiccup with grace but was later blocked in the first turn by a downed Justin Barcia, forcing the Frenchman next to last to begin the race. With smart line choice, Musquin found himself up to 12th a lap later and into 11th on lap four. Then, as if the start to this event couldn’t have been any more chaotic, Marvin went down later that lap getting rattled by team- mate Ryan Dungey, who also suffered from the “flinch” incident on the starting line. The fall pushed Marvin against the odds and into 18th position. Making a few moves over the next couple laps, another bobble ruined his progression and on lap ten, Musquin was back to 18th with plenty of work left to do. By now, the track deteriorating into a sophisticated, rutted chop, Marvin continued to fight and on lap twelve he began a battle with Vince Friese for 17th. Get- ting the edge around Vince, Musquin pushed onward to earn two more spots over the final few laps of the race, getting by Malcolm Stewart and Jake Weimer for 15th at the finish line.
The weekend proved to a be more of an obstacle to Marvin’s season than a pathway and with Cole Seely finishing in 5th, Marvin’s now fighting from behind. He will have to look to India- napolis and round eleven to reclaim the 3rd place spot in points, a feat well within his reach.
94 GRITMOTO • MARCH 12, 2017