ARLINGTON, Texas – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Marvin Musquin continued his climb back toward the center of the podium on Saturday with a 2nd place finish at Round 7 of the AMA Supercross Championship in Arlington, Texas. Fellow KTM rider, Blake Baggett, put his Rocky Mountain ATV*MC – WPS – KTM machine atop the podium for the third-straight weekend as he finished a close 3rd behind Musquin for the opening round of east coast competition.
Musquin and Baggett began the day in a similar fashion as they qualified 4th (Musquin) and 5th (Baggett) respectively into the evening’s racing program. In 450SX Heat 1, Musquin had an early crash that dropped him outside the top five in the overall running, where he ultimately finished 7th place to seed him into the 450SX Main Event.
Despite an unfavorable gate pick from his heat race result, Musquin blasted off the line in the 450SX Main Event to put his KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION into a 3rd place position off the start. Baggett followed suit and the orange duo rounded the opening lap in the 3rd and 4th place positions. The 2nd place rider of Jason Anderson went down on lap four, which opened the door for both riders to assume podium positions early on.
From there, Musquin worked hard to catch Eli Tomac out front, while Baggett maintained a solid pace behind. After 25 laps of racing it was Musquin who finished in the 2nd place position, building back up on the foundation he began with a big victory at the opening round. With two consecutive 2nd place finishes, Musquin now sits 4th in the 450SX Championship Standings.
Musquin: “The track was really challenging tonight, especially the whoops. I was trying to be creative and consistent. It was tough with the lappers and I thought I could capitalize on that but there was nothing I could do. I was catching Eli just a little bit but nothing to put a charge on him. Getting 7th in the heat race is not good for start position and I was all the way outside but I got a great start in the Main Event. I put myself in a great position and that’s what we needed to do to get on the podium tonight. A 2nd place is good but we want more for sure.”
Baggett held strong to secure his third-straight podium appearance with 3rd overall in Texas.
Baggett: “The track was tough tonight. It was one of those weekends where I had a big crash on Thursday and wasn’t even planning on coming but last minute we jumped on a flight and made it happen. I have to give it up to the team and everybody that’s behind us. Our goal is to win races but we’re three-for-three on 3rd place, so now we have two spots to go.”
After finishing a season-best 5th place at the previous round, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team’s Broc Tickle came into Round 7 with great momentum. Tickle finished 6th in 450SX Heat 2, setting him up for the evening’s Main Event. As the gate dropped for the 450SX Main Event, Tickle ran into bad luck right away as he got hit from the side and ultimately went down. After re-mounting, Tickle was forced to play catch-up from the dead last position.
By the halfway point, Tickle had climbed his way to just outside the top ten, where he continued to push into the final laps of the race. In an attempt to pass for the 8th place position, Tickle went down late in the race where he ultimately fought back to secure 9th overall for the night.
Tickle: “I knew the track was going to be tough tonight and I’m normally really good in those conditions so I kind of relied on knowing that. I tried to put myself in a good place on the start – especially after watching the 250 start – but I got hit from one side and the holeshot device was locked down so it made me knife the front and I fell over. I came from last to 9th and I was trying to make a pass on Dean but couldn’t make it happen and knifed the front and fell by myself. Overall, it’s the best Main Event riding I’ve had all season. I’m excited to go back to Florida and start riding with everyone again and get back on the regimen that we had before Christmas.”
Next Race: Tampa, Florida – February 24, 2018
Main Event Results 450SX Class Arlington 2018
1. Eli Tomac, Kawasaki
2. Marvin Musquin, KTM
3. Blake Baggett, KTM
4. Jason Anderson, Husqvarna
5. Cole Seely, Honda
Other KTM
9. Broc Tickle, KTM
14. Benny Bloss, KTM
Standings 450SX Class 2018 after 7 of 17 rounds
1. Anderson, 160 points
2. Seely, 124
3. Baggett, 120
4. Musquin, 119
5. Peick, 114
Other KTM
9. Tickle, 82
21. Bloss, 26
Main Event Results 250SX East Class Arlington 2018
1. Zach Osborne, HQV
2. Colt Nichols, YAM
3. Jimmy Decotis, SUZ
4. RJ Hampshire, HON
5. Jeremy Martin, HON
Other KTM
6. Jordon Smith, KTM
9. Sean Cantrell, KTM
15. Cody Vanbuskirk, KTM
20. Josh Osby, KTM
21. Anthony Rodriguez, KTM
Standings 250SX East Class 2018 after 7 of 17 rounds
1. Osborne, 26
2. Nichols, 23
3. Decotis, 21
4. Hampshire, 19
5. Martin, 18
Other KTM
6. Smith, 17
9. Cantrell, 14
15. Vanbuskirk, 8
20. Osby, 3
21. Rodriguez, 2
