Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Marvin Musquin earned his first 450MX overall win of the season on Saturday for Round 6 of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship in Southwick, Massachusetts.
With combined moto scores of 2-1, Musquin outlasted his competition late in the day despite the brutally rough and unpredictable track conditions at the Southwick National.
Musquin qualified fastest in the 450MX class, setting himself up for a positive start to the day’s racing. In Moto 1, he powered his KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION to a third-place position start and inserted himself into the early lead battle before taking the reins on lap six. Musquin maintained the lead position until two laps to go, when Eli Tomac finally made the pass. On the final lap, Musquin put on a hard charge to reclaim the lead but he tucked the front end taking an outside line through the loose soil and went over the bars. He was able to quickly remount and maintain his second-place position in Moto 1.
In Moto 2, Musquin got off to a great start as he jumped into the lead on the opening lap. He got passed by Tomac on lap two but he continued to fight early on to keep himself close to the leader. After a couple of big mistakes by Tomac, Musquin was able to capitalize and put himself back into the lead just after the halfway point. From there, he kept a steady pace all the way to the checkers, earning his second-straight Moto 2 victory.
Musquin: “It’s not always the fastest guy that wins the race and we saw it today. It was really demanding and tough out there, and physically it was rough and hot. In the first moto, I was leading a few laps and it was awesome but when you know Eli is behind you it’s not easy, but I kept pushing. He finally got me at the end and I was going to give a fight back but unfortunately, I went down. Second moto, I got a good start but it was hard for me to push super hard in the first few laps, my intensity wasn’t quite there and Eli was gone. But then, at the end of the day, he made mistakes and I was able to capitalize on that and stay consistent, stay on two wheels and ride to the finish.”
450 OVERALL RESULTS
1. Marvin Musquin (2-1)
2. Eli Tomac (1-2)
3. Justin Barcia (3-3)
4. Blake Baggett (4-4)
5. Ken Roczen (5-5)
6. Benny Bloss (6-6)
7. Lorenzo Locurcio (7-7)
8. Cooper Webb (8-9)
9. Phil Nicoletti (10-8)
10. Weston Peick (9-11)
450MX Standings
1. Eli Tomac, 289 points
2. Marvin Musquin, 257
3. Justin Barcia, 224
4. Ken Roczen, 201
5. Blake Baggett, 200