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MARVIN MUSQUIN
450 SX / 1ST
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / KILPATRICK DESIGN / WILSON
>> Marvin Musquin has been back in his early season form since making the trip down to the famous Daytona International Speedway. The Red Bull KTM rider
is on a streak of three podium finishes heading into the fourteenth round of the 2017 Monster Energy Supercross season in Seattle. Although Musquin typically contested the east coast series when he raced in the 250 class, the Frenchman’s riding style fits right into the soft, loose soil that will be presented by Rice-Eccles Stadium. A bizarre scenario took place in qualifying in which each practice group was only allowed one ten minute session due to loads of rain the day before. Seattle’s already soft dirt was completely soaked to the core, making the track more like a sandbox easily molded and construed by the spinning tires of over one hundred motorcycles. This was good news for Musquin -- his technical ability allows him to ride the ruts as good if not better than anyone else on the gate and his experience and precision allows him to learn a track in no time. Qualifying wrapped up and the Frenchman was sitting pretty with the second fastest time
of the session, one of only two riders in the fifty-seven second range. Musquin carried the momentum from practice directly into his heat race as he shot out to a tremendous start and kept a tidy line through the first corner to gain the advan- tage in the opening rhythm section. He had pressure from Ryan Dungey for the entirety of the moto, but the Red Bull KTM rider never folded as he maintained his composure all the way until the checkered flag. It was more or less the same sequence of events in the main event as Musquin timed the gate drop to perfec- tion and shot out to an early lead within a matter of corners. His incredible perfor- mance was overshadowed by the battle for the championship and the chaos that occurred behind him, but he undoubtedly had one of the rides of the night as he conquered an incredibly challenging track with relative ease. Musquin was able to comfortably take his second victory of the season, as well as his 450 career, whilst simultaneously securing his third position in the overall points standings.
12 GRITMOTO • APRIL 9, 2017