Racer X: Congratulations on picking up one… I’m sure you have some unique trophies at home, but are you familiar with the gun that you were able to secure yourself today?
Marvin Musquin: For sure. It’s pretty amazing and really cool. I really like it. It’s funny because before the weekend my wife actually showed me a picture of the trophy and I was like, ‘Oh, that would be cool to win that trophy.’ And it happened. I didn’t expect that. For sure that’s the goal, but…I tried my best and didn’t win any motos today but ended up 2-2 for first overall. So I’m really happy because the first two rounds I ended up fourth in every moto and fourth overall so I was kind of a little bit disappointed. But definitely this weekend I had a good start and a good feeling on the bike, good feeling on the track. I really like the track.
It seems like of all the racers, regardless of which class, you really seem to really like the technical tracks.
Yeah. Hangtown and Lakewood, it’s kind of really fast track and gets a little dry. It was not the best for me. But definitely this weekend it was a track for me, a lot of ruts, really technical, lot of jumps, and that’s what I like. So from watching some videos before the weekend I thought it was going to be a good track for me and it happened, so it’s good.
Consistent 2-2 moto scores from Musquin was good enough for the overall at Muddy Creek.
Simon Cudby photo
You and other riders from the GPs have had to learn to adjust to these tracks real quickly, because of the one-day format. So did it help that this time it was a track that everyone had to learn quickly?
No, not really. Last year I won at Unadilla. Kind of everyone knows that track that races here, and it was my first time there. So, no, I don’t think so. For sure it’s two times ten minutes practice; it’s really, really short. Actually yesterday night when I got to the hotel it was like, ‘Oh man, I didn’t walk the track!’ So that was maybe a mistake, but we got some laps and we got a chance to learn the track today so it was okay.
The 250 lap times were faster than 450s, like, all day long, especially in qualifying. Do you have any idea why that would be?
No. I don’t think about lap times compared to the 450s. I heard we were faster than the 450s but it doesn’t matter how fast we are compared to them. But it’s kind of something that is pretty amazing. For sure that track was technical, small turns, so that’s why 250 was maybe easier to ride and to turn in all those ruts. When you watch the 450s it looks like they’re going really fast, so I think that the 250 guys, we are doing pretty good if we are as fast as them!
The triple, the Bomber, was that a little bit of a stretch on the 250 or pretty easy?
I was giving everything I had on the triple, especially because we were going inside. It was good because it was pretty dry so it was good to get speed through the turn, to do that jump. It was a big jump, a really fun jump for me. It gets a little rough with some bumps so it kind of slowed down the bikes, so second moto it was really tougher than the first moto.
Last year started a little slow. You had a hand injury coming in. It wasn’t until the second half of the year that you started running up front, and then won a race. This time you’re in the title contention so it’s a little bit different this year.
Yeah, it’s different for sure. I thought I was going to be a little bit better the first two rounds. Like I said, ended up fourth every time, the first two rounds. So I thought I could do better, be on the podium. It didn’t happen but now I win my first overall this year, on the third round. So it’s really important and it’s cool because everyone is believing in me and it’ll keep believing in myself, too. I know I can do it and just to keep working and try to win motos now.
Musquin's win at Muddy Creek was the second overall of his career.
Simon Cudby photo
We had some folks from over in the GPs. We had Clement Desalle and Kevin Strijbos here. Did you have a chance to talk with them about their experience here in America?
A little bit, yeah, especially Clement. He used to race with me when we were on the 85 and he speaks French. So it’s kind of cool. I talked to him last weekend and I also practiced with him the week before Lakewood. So it was pretty cool to see him, and he was happy to be here. I think he did good in Lakewood and not so good here, but he’s a good rider and you know you’ve got to get a good start to be up front. So I think it was a little bit tough for those guys because it was really warm and humid and coming from Europe you’re not used to it. I think it was tough but it’s a good experience for them. I think they’re going to move forward for the GPs.
Do you see anybody riding the GPs, Herlings or anybody, maybe making the move over to America for next year?
Yeah. That’s something that I would like, too, because I’m from Europe and it’s tough to win here in the U.S. I wish I could see somebody like Herlings or some of the guys moving here and try to win here and see how they do. It’s one thing that I want to see.
