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MARVIN MUSQUIN
450 SX / 2ND
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / KILPATRICK DESIGN / WILSON
>> Marvin Musquin has been off the pace the past couple of weekends due to a lingering illness that has hindered his training regiment, his ability to perform to his fullest potential, and his mindset on race day. The French native showed the speed at the beginning of the season to run at the front of the field in only his sophomore year in the premier class. Musquin has experienced a poor string of results that have been affected by his illness, but things were back to normal after Daytona as he was actually able to put in a full week of training with Aldon Baker and the boys leading up to India- napolis. He was able to return to his early season form as soon as the action began in Indianapolis by clocking the fastest lap in both timed qualifying sessions. Musquin put the last couple weekends out of his head after finally ridding his body of the illness that plagued him, utilizing his technical prowess and unrivaled bike control to dominate the tight, technical track that was laid out in Lucas Oil Stadium. The Frenchman shot out to a solid third place start in a sea of KTMs as the second
450 heat race got underway. He tucked in behind the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC teammates of Davi Millsaps and Blake Baggett, and began to apply pressure behind them. Musquin was taking advan- tage of the track time in order to test out different lines for the main event -- something that would pay off greatly for him in the long run. The former 250 East Supercross Champion was precisely jumping through the whoops and carving an inside line before the following section, showing his competitors a wheel each and every lap. He was eventually able to force his way past Baggett and set his sights on Millsaps, picking up the pace with only a couple of laps to go. Musquin executed
an exceptional move by launching off of a single jump before the finish line and stealing the line away from the veteran, therefore securing the lead as he launched the finish line with the front wheel pointed towards the sky. He was able to hold on for the next couple of laps and eventually crossed the finish line with a fairly comfortable advantage in the lead, setting him up for a spectacular main event. Musquin forced his way into a top five start in the main event and immediately showed some early race aggression in an attempt to move past his teammate onto the podium; he wasn’t able to make the move stick and was forced to settle into fourth position as the battle at the front of the field began to heat up. He circulated consistently in the early stages of the race, finding his rhythm as he let the race come to him -- and it did exactly that near the halfway point when Blake Baggett made a mistake and gifted Musquin third position. As the track began to break down and new lines started to develop, Musquin was consistently reeling in his Red Bull KTM teammate in second place. He was able to make a three second gap disappear within just a couple of laps and the two of them were subsequently involved in a multi-lap battle that allowed Musquin to slide up the inside before the rhythm section heading to the mechanic’s area. At that point, Tomac had already checked out in the lead, but the #25 was still content to be back on the podium after a couple of challenging weekends hindered his championship charge. The French rider will be motivated and confident heading into Detroit where he finished on the podium last season.
14 GRITMOTO • MARCH 19, 2017