Photo by: Simon Cudby
Five years ago when the two-time MX2 World Champion Marvin Musquin decided to vacate his championships to chase the American dream, everyone had him on the top of their list as a Championship favorite in both Supercross and Motocross. Unfortunately, before the Red Bull/KTM rider even stepped foot on American soil, he blew his ACL out racing in Bercy and it’s been an uphill fight for the very likeable Frenchman ever since.
Since then, Marvin has injured his shoulder, his arm, broke his thumb and destroyed his ACL again, but coming into the 2015 Eastern Regional 250SX Championship, he was healthy and more fit than ever thanks to the hiring of trainer to the stars, Aldon Baker. With Aldon and Red Bull/KTM in his corner, Marvin went on to win seven of the nine 250SX Eastern Regional main events in 2015 and finish no worse than second place on the year. That consistency netted Marvin his first-ever Regional Supercross Championship, dethroning the returning champion, GEICO/Honda’s Justin Bogle, by 23 points.
Over the years, there have been many Frenchman that have left the Motocross World Championship series to pursue a career in AMA Supercross and Motocross, but very few have received the acceptance from Americans fans and media quite like Marvin Musquin. The #25 is loved across the board by everyone that comes in contact with him and, because of that, the crowd outside his rig to celebrate his Championship was massive. Luckily, Marvin stopped to talk to MotoXAddicts for a quick post-Championship interview. You can hear what the very happy Musquin had to say below.
Congrats, Marvin! It’s been a long time in the making. You came over here 5 years ago from France with a dream and you finally got your first Supercross championship.
Yeah, I came really close two years ago. I’ve been here in the US for a couple years, but that’s the third year that I’ve been racing the Supercross series, because two injuries, a knee injury at the beginning of the season and missing the Supercross. This year, a new bike, and in Austria they build a great bike. A new trainer, Aldon Baker, and those two things made it so much better. Also getting good starts and being fit and focus on the track and attacking the track all the time and feeling good and trusting the bike. Those were big things, and feeling strong too and winning races, so it’s been awesome.
So what’s it like in that KTM rig right now? You’ve got two championships and obviously the same trainer. It’s got to be a party in there right now. I mean, are you feeling good?
Yeah. Yeah. It’s good. For sure. We’re going to have a really good fun with all the team together. It’s great to see everybody with a big smile. KTM came up with a factory edition and we both win the championship in the 250 and 450. Couldn’t be better.
Talk about where you came from a little bit. I remember the Honda days when you were on a privateer bike. Then you won two MX2 World Championships.
Yeah. I made my way through some good and tough times. Everything worked pretty well in Europe for me when I switched to KTM, and I have no regrets. Then I got injuries over in the US, but still, that’s the way it is. You try to get better and then you get it done. It’s great.
Talk about the main event really quick. You were behind Bogle. For a minute, it looked like you might settle for 2nd.
Yeah, I was kind of searching myself on the track, especially in the whoops—trying to jump through—and I couldn’t find a good rhythm. And then find a good line, skimming on the left and got better, and there was like two spots where I was faster than Bogle and I was catching him. Then I knew I could win, but at the same time, I wanted to be safe and not do a stupid mistake, because if I would have DNF that main event, I would have lost the Championship. Just trying to be smart, and then I pass him and it worked out really well. Won the main event; that was the goal.
Does Las Vegas East/West 250SX Shootout matter much to you? Do you want to prove you’re the best 250SX Champion when it comes down to you and [Cooper] Webb?
It does, yes and no. I’ve been racing East Coast on really soft track, and then we’re going to Vegas where it’s really hard. So we’ll have to adapt, adapt the bike, the suspensions and myself. I just can’t wait to ride with the #1 plate; that’s going to be really fun. Nice gears, nice stickers and stuff on the bike, so that’s going to be really fun. Then we try our best, try to get a good start in the main and see how it goes. If I do well, I do well. If it doesn’t work, try to be safe and then we have outdoors then.
Do you have anything for [Jeremy] Martin outdoors? Do you feel like you’re a contender this year?
Yeah, he’s not the only one. I think many guys are going to be really fast outdoors. I feel like it’s obviously easier to be fast in outdoors than Supercross, but it’s going to be interesting for sure and I’ll be ready.
Well, thank you for your time, Marvin, and congrats on a long, hard fight back to the top. Despite being a journalist, I’ve been a fan of yours because of what you accomplished for quite some time. Congrats and good luck outdoors.
Thank you.
