Page 38 - Issue_78

MARVIN MUSQUIN
450 MX / 2ND
IMAGE / KILPATRICK WORDS / MATTINGLY DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> Although the wild res of Southern California haven’t reared their head as much this year, as in years past, the presence of heat and surging temperatures were de nitely in full swing for the 2018 Glen Helen National. Now that the anticipation and butter ies of the opening round had been swept away, everyone on the line was as ery and as passionate as could be; speci cally Marvin Musquin. A brute competitor full of testosterone and drive, he attacked the track with pure grit for qualifying. These berms stood no chance, as he dove down the treacherous hills, resisting the grab of the binders until the very last possible second. He excelled, as the track grew more grotesque, ourishing more and more as the bike would begin to reverberate. Pass- ing past the mechanic’s paddock on the nal go around, his mechanic would signal a thumbs up and he knew all would be well heading into the two-moto format. The rst moto would be upon him, and he would shoot out of the hole with utter determination. Clicking third immediately over the pad, the eld stream a constant waiver going through the rst lap; he would sit near the top ve. Surrounded by the likes of Jason Anderson, his pace would have to be elevated in order
to sustain this top-tier positioning. They would climb to the far right corner of the track, cresting these singles as he would scrub his footpeg into multiple faces, looking to lengthen the gap and those behind him. After a mature showing of patience, Musquin would surge past the number twenty-one, and take over third. Never being complacent, he saw Roczen beginning to fade. And with a few moments to go, just before the uphill, Yamaha double, Musquin would pass the trailing Honda. He would capture second, and it would be his for the taking. As the nal ag would approach, he seemed to have second in the bag. He would nish here, looking ahead
to conquering the feet again in the second moto. Dashing into the “Talladega” like rst turn, his machine would be a two-wheeled missile ready to take out anyone in sight. Pushing nearly to the brink of disaster, he would nd a comfortable edge of unheralded speed, only being matched by Jason Anderson out front, and Eli Tomac behind. He knew he would have to stay in front of him to receive rst place overall, and was doing everything in his will power to do so. Skying over the red-bull triple, he would look over across the way, to see Jason Anderson outbound, and back onto the in eld premises. But around the halfway point, as the shadows were in full force, the number one of Eli Tomac would slip around. He would then sit third, pretty much all by himself, and would stay here until the end. As the checkered ag ew, his nal residing position would be that of third place; garnering second overall.
38 GRITMOTO • MAY 27, 2018