Photos & Interview By: Chase Yocom – Written By: Dan Lamb

After Red Bull / KTM’s Marvin Musquin won the season opener and Eli Tomac scored just 1 point, Marvin moved to the top of everyone’s 450SX Championship favorites list. The Frenchman looked as ready as he has ever been to make a serious run at the 450SX title, but like so many others in 2018, a small mistake that led to a shoulder injury derailed everything. Marvin was forced to sit out the Houston main event—handing the red plate to Jason Anderson—and it has been an uphill battle ever since.

The #25 returned to racing at A2 and struggled to a 13th place finish. At the next two rounds he finished 5th and 4th, but since then, the former two time MX2 World Champion has been on the podium in six of the last seven main events, and he finally got back to the top of the podium over the weekend in Indianapolis.

Marvin is known for being arguably the best SX rider on the planet and the soft soil of Indianapolis played right into his strengths. Marvin started the day by qualifying on pole with the fastest lap and ended it over the finish line with a heel-clicker that came 30 seconds before 2nd place Dean Wilson crossed the line. It was a dominant performance, but unfortunately he still has a 35-point deficit with just five main events to go.

It’s hard to find Marv not smiling at the races.

After Marvin’s win, Chase Yocom caught up with him to talk about his return to the winners’ circle in Indy.

Marvin, it’s been a while since you’ve been on top of the box, but tonight you got it done again. How ecstatic are you?

I want to say, “finally.” The other guys did a great job all season long and I needed to be better, but finally since Anaheim 1 [his last win]. It feels great. It was a crazy main event. To be leading by almost 30-seconds is crazy. Obviously, [Eli] Tomac went down, but you needed to be smart, consistent and stay on two wheels. That’s what I did. It was hard after Tomac went down, cause I’m like, “Okay, I have a big lead; I got this.” But I still had to finish the main. I was a long main event again. Twenty-seven laps felt really long. I needed to be smart.

 

Is it almost harder when something like that happens and you have such a big lead? Because whenever you have someone right on you like Eli was early in the race, you’re really intense, really focused and then you don’t have that and you have a huge lead. Is it harder and easier to lose focus?

In a way it is, but in another way it would have been gnarly to fight until the checkered under conditions like that. You’re really focused and hitting your marks—that’s when you’re at your best—then you shut it down a little bit and it’s weird. You’re like, “Okay, I got this. I have such a big lead. I’ll just roll to the finish. It’s awesome!” But, no, anything can happen on a track like that. You have to go around the lappers and you can make a mistake too. You have to make sure you don’t.

It’s been since A1 that we’ve seen Marvin on the top step of the box.

In twenty-seven laps you had to have lapped quite a few people. Was it especially difficult tonight with lappers? I think you lapped up to 6th or 7th.

Yeah, that’s what happens when you have a track like that: it separates a lot. There were a lot of mistakes out there ’cause all of the ruts. I’m just glad I got the holeshot. It was the best way to go into that main event.

 

It’s been a little while since you’ve had one of those—a holeshot—so that had to feel good.

Yeah, for sure, for sure, for sure. I had been waiting for that one, it’s awesome.

 

What is it about rutted and technical tracks like this one? You just seem to excel at these type of conditions.

I do, I try to be creative I guess. I like it. Maybe I see different things on the track that other guys don’t. That’s why try to be creative and hit the lines.

 

There’s a few more options with the ruts instead of being one-lined. It makes it maybe a little more fun out there too.

Yeah, exactly. More fun sometimes, but not everywhere. There are some sections that are more tough and maybe a little scary, but it’s good.

Marvin had 30 seconds to celebrate before 2nd place crossed the line.

Crazy snowy weather here today in Indy. How looking forward to getting back to Florida are you? (laughs)

It’s nice. Obviously, we’re lucky to have such a nice stadium here in Indy and we’re warm and covered. It was crazy outside, but it’s kind of cool to see that. It’s a bummer for the fans because we had to close the pits. With no access to the pits, there was nothing to see, and everything was closed and everybody was just hiding inside from the snow.

 

It kind of made the day feel weird, to be honest.

A little bit, a little bit. I was still able to go down there and do some interviews for the fans in the pits, so it was nice.

 

How’s the shoulder injury feeling?

It’s good. It’s still sometimes a little sore on that ligament. On the bike it’s really good, so I’m happy with that. At the gym I’m able to work out really good. A little sore sometimes, but it’s really good.

 

Thank you again for your time and congratulations on the win. I’ll let you get out of here.

Thank you.

Photo by: Simon Cudby

Author

Dan Lamb is a 12+ year journalist and the owner of MotoXAddicts.