The wide-open 250 title chase in Lucas Oil Pro Motocross just gained two surefire title contenders in Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Jeremy Martin and Cooper Webb—or where they already contenders? The list in this class was impossibly huge, but even with the Yamaha boys showing they’re for real, the list shrunk quite a bit over the weekend.
Rough races, bad starts and even injuries cost quite a few riders big piles of points, but one contender quietly overcame his own issues to stay in contention.
For starters, Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin was coming into the race at less than 100 percent. He tore his ACL right before Monster Energy Supercross began and had surgery in January. With ACL recovery usually taking five or six months, he was on the short side for recovery and only had about two hard weeks of hard motos before the race. The number-one goal was to just get through without reinjuring himself.
Well, his knee held up. It was another problem that cost him dearly. A crash in morning practice resulted in a dislocated shoulder, but it immediately popped back into place. Still, Musquin didn’t think he’d be able to handle two 30-plus minute motos on the rough Glen Helen track, but Eddie Casillas from the Asterisk mobile medic crew taped him up and told him he could try it. Indeed, he was okay, and salvaged 10-8 scores for eighth overall. What’s more, the shoulder never came back out.
“I had a rough time with my shoulder today,” stated Musquin in a team statement. “Luckily, my knee felt really good and I think my shoulder will be fine at Hangtown. I am looking forward to making progress at each round until I am 100 percent.”
I talked to Musquin after the race, and he told me that after practice he was fully expecting to not be able to race at all. Instead, he garnered 24 points and eighth overall via 10-8 scores.
It was a result some others wish they could have escaped with.
