Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Marvin Musquin earned his second consecutive victory and locked down the 450 series points lead at the RedBud National.
Riding like a champion, he overcame a crash in the first lap of the first 450 moto to charge from the back of the pack to second, then followed it up with an exciting second moto win to earn the overall and the red plate.
Marvin Musquin posted the third-fastest qualifying time of the day, and had the opportunity to take control of the 450 points lead and the coveted red plate. He lined up for the first 450 moto looking for a holeshot but got caught up in a first-turn pileup. He remounted in the back of the pack and charged through the traffic. He pushed his way to 12th by the third lap then closed a ton of ground to make it up to fifth around the halfway mark. He blew past Benny Bloss for third with three laps to go then finished his impressive moto with one more pass for second.
Eli Tomac started Moto 1 with the lead and set a pace much faster than the rest of the field until disaster struck for the points leader. Tomac’s rear wheel stopped rotating, and he could do nothing as he sat on the side of the track while everyone else went around him.
That misfortune allowed Roczen to inherit the lead, and he closed out the final laps to take the checkered flag. And just like that, the championship race has gotten a lot tighter. Thanks to Tomac’s DNF and Musquin’s resilience, there was a 22-point swing between the two riders in just this moto. That means that Tomac’s 32-point lead is now down to 10 points entering Moto 2.
In Moto 2, Musquin was fourth at the start and immediately went to battle as he overtook the lead before the end of the first lap. He had a strong ride and held his ground as he was being challenged for position the remainder of the race. Never letting up, he fully redeemed himself from his first-moto crash and put on an amazing ride to charge to his second consecutive overall victory and take over the series points lead. He will run the red plate at the next race.
Musquin: “I can’t believe I came back to second place in the first moto. It was a crazy race, so having a shot of winning the overall after that was great. I was looking forward to the second moto. I got a great start and was able to get into the lead. My goal was to stay consistent and mistake-free. I was able to stay on two wheels and keep Kenny and Barcia behind me. It’s crazy to be leading the championship now. Anything can happen. It’s only another race, and there’s a lot to go. The fans were unbelievable here. I really enjoyed it. Having the second win in a row is amazing.”
Meahwile Tomac’s struggles continued. Because of his DNF in Moto 1, Tomac had a bad gate pick for Moto 2 and was unable to get a good start. That forced him to come from 18th place to salvage as many points as possible. After racing his way up to sixth though, Tomac went down and lost several positions. To make matters worse, he needed to pull into the pits to get the bike straightened out after the crash. As a result, he needed to come back yet again — this time from about 12th place.
What was originally a 32-point lead for Tomac entering the day is now a narrow 3-point lead for Musquin entering Round 8, which will take place two weeks from now at Spring Creek.
Roczen (1-3) and Bacia (4-2) joined Musquin on the overall podium. It’s the fourth straight round that Barcia has been on the podium, but it’s only the second time this season that Roczen has been on the podium.
450 OVERALL RESULTS
1. Marvin Musquin (2-1)
2. Ken Roczen (1-3)
3. Justin Barcia (4-2)
4. Blake Baggett (5-5)
5. Phil Nicoletti (6-6)
6. Justin Hill (10-4)
7. Cooper Webb (7-7)
8. Kyle Cunningham (11-8)
9. Weston Peick (8-11)
10. Jake Nicholls (9-13)
11. Benny Bloss (3-23)
12. Henry Miller (13-10)
13. Cody Cooper (14-12)
14. Toshiki Tomita (15-14)
15. Eli Tomac (36-9)
16. Brandon Scharer (17-15)
17. Ben LaMay (16-16)
18. Heath Harrison (12-28)
19. Cody Williams (33-17)
20. Justin Bogle (24-18)
450 POINTS STANDINGS
1. Marvin Musquin, 304
2. Eli Tomac, 301
3. Justin Barcia, 264
4. Ken Roczen, 246
5. Blake Baggett, 232
6. Weston Peick, 193
7. Benny Bloss, 176
8. Phil Nicoletti, 172
9. Cody Cooper, 101
10. Kyle Cunningham, 93