Marvin’s mechanic, Frankie Latham, wasn’t there for Marvin’s first 450SX win—home with wife having baby—but he was there for 450MX win number one. Photos by: Simon Cudby
Before the start of the 2017 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship Red Bull / KTM’s best hope for a 450MX Championship, Ryan Dungey, announced his retirement and left Marvin Musquin as the sole hope for the Austrian manufacturer to take home the #1 plate in 2017. Before coming to the USA, the Frenchman won back-to-back MX2 World Championships, but since arriving on this side of the pond, a national championship has eluded him. Well, after two rounds of the 2017 450MX Championship, Marvin has his first 450MX win in the history books, and with Eli Tomac having problems at Glen Helen, Marvin also has the red plate and a 15-point lead.
At Glen Helen, Marvin pulled the holeshot in the opening moto and never looked back. On arguably the gnarliest circuit on earth, the #25 clicked off consistent laps en-route to his first-ever 450MX moto win. In moto two, Marvin rounded the Talladega first turn around sixth, but he could not find the pace of his training partner Rockstar Energy / Husqvarna’s Jason Anderson early on. In the end, both Anderson and Rocky Mountain ATV/MC / KTM’s Blake Baggett got away from Marvin, but his 1-3 score secured him the top step on the podium and the red background heading into Thunder Valley next weekend.
After the race, Marvin answered questions from the press about his tremendous outing at Glen Helen.
Man, what a day. You got your first moto win, the overall, and you have the red plate now. You’re where you want to be.
Yeah, obviously the goal is to try and win, especially after last weekend and getting second. Glen Helen is a unique track, and to be able to win that first moto is incredible. I got the holeshot and rode pretty good—just consistent—and was able to grab my first ever win in the outdoors on the 450. In the second moto, I really wanted to get a good start. I knew it was going to be tough—rough and physically tough. Unfortunately—I was in the top ten—I was not in a good position to fight for the win. I was missing a little bit of speed in the beginning. Those guys, Blake [Baggett] and Jason [Anderson], were riding really well. I came back to third place and that’s all I could do in the second moto. I was behind and not far back, and they were pushing. I just tried to be consistent, but to walk away from Glen Helen with the red plate and the first overall, it’s unbelievable.
These things may not go through your head, but obviously Eli Tomac had a lot of speed at times. Today, watching you ride out there, you looked smooth. I never once was watching you and thinking “Marvin’s on the edge,” or “Something bad might happen.” Is that something that you’re looking at, and if it comes down to you and Eli, are you willing to hang it out a little bit to run that pace that he can create sometimes?
Well, it’s not my style. I’m just trying to be, I guess, smooth, trying to be safe and the fastest at times. I definitely tried at Glen Helen today, but it’s really difficult. It’s easy to make mistakes and maybe even see me getting squirrelly. (laughs) I was a little tense coming down the hills at some points, but it’s all good. I kept it on two wheels, and I kept it safe. To walk away from Glen Helen on two feet right now, it’s good.
Last week, everyone kind of crowned Tomac [Champion]. Did that add any motivation?
I think I’m going to answer that just like Ryan [Dungey] did: “Nobody crowned anybody!” (laughs) Eli Tomac is a great guy, but like you see this weekend, he can make mistakes. It can happen to anybody, it’s tough out there. He’s a great rider, but that’s racing. Mistakes can happen, and you have to be consistent. It’s only the second round.
You led the second moto last week, and Tomac was able to catch you. Then you led the first moto this weekend and nobody caught you. Is that actually a little sign of confidence? Like “I don’t even need to worry about what’s going on behind me, if I just ride my race I should be able to win these motos”?
Yeah, I feel like anywhere that Tomac starts at one point you feel like he’s going to come because he’s really fast. Today was definitely different than last weekend. That’s how it is racing dirt bikes. Every kind of track is different, so definitely this weekend and Hangtown were a lot different. You could see that his speed was not like four or five seconds faster like last weekend. Definitely we proved that Blake or Jason are able to step it up right now; with good starts, they’re able to be up there. It’s going to be a good fight and a good championship for sure.
Can you talk about your hat [#69 hat in memory of the late Nicky Hayden], and what it means to you?
It’s a very sad week for everybody in the sport. Everybody that rides a dirt bike knows Nicky Hayden. Thanks to the guys at Red Bull for making those nice hats. It’s very sad. Life is short and anything can happen. We ride bicycles quite a few times a week with Jason [Anderson], so I feel like we need to pay more attention to every day.
I know Blake changed a lot on his bike after the race last week. Did you guys do a lot of changes this week or are you pretty happy with the way it was at Hangtown?
Actually, I changed a couple of things. Definitely we proved today that the KTM is working pretty good. I’m pretty happy for Austria and everybody doing so much work—Husqvarna and KTM. We have a lot of options right now, and I feel like we’re all working together. Everybody knows all the setups. It’s good; I think it’s getting better.
In the second moto, were you trying to catch them and go for the win, or were you content where you were in third?
It was hard to get going. I knew it was going to be a tough moto, especially with the start I had. I was battling with Jason at the beginning, but he was quicker and it was hard to push more than what I was doing. I’m a little bit bummed about the second moto, but I tried to be safe, consistent and come back to third place and score some good points. That’s all I could do today.
Did you know you had the overall?
Yeah, I guessed. I didn’t know exactly what place Jason got in the first moto, but I knew it was not a third. It’s never good to celebrate if it didn’t happen.
How did this race compare to Glen Helens you have ridden before as far as roughness? The downhills looked kind of spooky out there.
Yeah, I felt it was already rough in the first lap of practice. I think, especially that bigger downhill, they didn’t prep it for today. I think they left it rough from yesterday—I’m not sure—but you know, it’s good. This is motocross. Glen Helen didn’t disappoint me today. (laughs) It was super rough. It’s a good thing it was not hot today.
Do you think of this track as dangerous?
This year the track was way better and a little safer than last year. I know here every year they want to build the biggest jump in the world. I’m glad that last year no one got hurt, but I’m glad that this year they mellowed some of the jumps. At the end, everyone is happy, and it was still a good show.
