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Marvin Musquin came into Red Bud looking to get some good starts and fight up near the front. He is more than capable of doing so and got his day going in practice logging the ninth quickest time. He was set to do war on the rough and nasty Red Bud course. As the riders roared into the first turn for moto one, Musquin found himself buried deep outside of the top fifteen. He was exactly where he did not want to be so he started putting on a charge. He consistently made moves and was never behind the same rider for too long. As a result of that he found himself all the way up in eighth place at the midway point of the race. He picked off Baggett for seventh just passed that halfway point and began going after Phil Nicoletti. Musquin finally closed the gap and made the pass for sixth with six minutes left in the race. He then set his sights on fellow Frenchman Christophe Pourcel. He tracked him down by putting together some of his faster laps of the race in the latter stages and made the move for fifth with just three laps to go. It was a great come from behind effort from Musquin but he was hoping he wouldn’t have to do so in the second moto. He got off to another subpar start in the second moto but it was better than the first as he rounded lap one in ninth place. He didn’t move up the field quite as quickly as he did in the opening moto. Musquin was log jammed in seventh for a majority of the moto before a battle erupted in the latter half. He, Baggett, Pourcel and Bisceglia had an all out war late in the moto with each rider swapping positions several times. It was entertaining to watch and when it was all said and done Musquin would finish just behind Baggett in sixth place. Although the 5-6 moto scores are pretty solid, Musquin has to be left wanting a little bit more as we head back to Southwick.
words/SETHHARNISHFEGER
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