Following a weekend off from racing, Marvin Musquin and the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team returned to action in Millville, Minnesota for Round 8 of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship. Leading a majority of the laps in 450MX Moto 2, Musquin put up a good fight to protect his championship points lead on Saturday where he emerged from the Spring Creek National with third overall on the day and a seven-point deficit with four rounds remaining in the championship.
450MX
In Moto 1, Musquin got off to a second-place start aboard his KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION, where he engaged in an early battle for the lead. While running second, Musquin made a small mistake that dropped him back to third and he held onto that position for the next three laps. Another mistake took place for Musquin in the form of a big crash on lap six as he cross-rutted on a down-hill and went down hard. After remounting and adjusting his clutch lever, Musquin spent the remainder of the moto playing catch-up where he salvaged fourth-place in Moto 1.
In Moto 2, he got a great jump off the line and put himself into the lead on the opening lap. He established a good pace out front and maintained the lead for the first 13 laps, until a hard-charging Eli Tomac interjected himself late in the race. With three laps to go, Tomac was able to make a pass for the lead that would ultimately stick, giving Musquin second-place in Moto 2 and third overall for the day.
Musquin: “Millville was definitely a tough weekend but I’m even more motivated now for Washougal. I expected a little more of a smooth day, to be honest. The starts were good but I was a little bit riding tight in the first moto. I started to get better but unfortunately, I cross-rutted down the hill and I couldn’t avoid going down. It was a scary crash down the hill – my clutch lever was all the way down when I picked it up but luckily, I was able to get back on it and salvage some points. In the second moto, I definitely wanted to do better and pick up more points. I was riding well and leading, but unfortunately it was not enough. It was a better feeling at the end of the second moto for sure, compared to the first one. We made some progress and now onto Washougal.”
It was another solid day for Rocky Mountain ATV/MC – WPS – KTM’s Blake Baggett, who earned another top-five overall in the 450MX class with 3-4 moto finishes. Baggett sits fifth overall in the championship standings.
250MX
Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/KTM’s Alex Martin earned third overall at his home track in Minnesota with 7-2 moto scores for the day. Martin continues to hold second overall in the 250MX Championship standings with four rounds remaining in the series. His teammate, Jordon Smith, rode to a season-best third-place in Moto 1, where he went on to earn fourth overall for the day, his best overall finish of the season to-date.
