Frenchman routs 22-cycle field in Arlington to win first Supercross main event
Marvin Musquin had been close to a victory in the Monster Energy Supercross Series but hadn’t been able to put together a complete race in a 450 SX main event.
That changed Saturday night at AT&T Stadium.
The Frenchman put on a dominant performance to win his first Supercross main event, blowing away the 22-cycle field by leading all 26 laps and winning by more than five seconds.
Musquin got the hole shot and never looked back as championship contenders struggled behind him.
“You don’t have to be the fastest to win,” Musquin said. “Tonight I put everything together. It was a relaxed main event. I was looking back. I didn’t have to push to the limit to make it work.”
Musquin was the second-fastest qualifier in the afternoon session and caught a break early in the main. The race was red-flagged after a crash by Justin Brayton on the first lap. That led to a restart that started Musquin’s domination.
Tonight I put everything together. ... I didn’t have to push to the limit to make it work.
Arlington Supercross champion Marvin Musquin
He was never challenged, beating Cole Seely by 5.332 seconds and Jason Anderson by 9.449 seconds as only eight bikes finished on the lead lap. Points leader Ryan Dungey never challenged, finishing fourth with his worst showing of the year. Eli Tomac, who had the fastest-qualifying time, crashed and finished 15th.
Musquin had three podium finishes in the first five races of the season, but his win Saturday was big in the point standings. He moved from third to second behind Dungey, closing the gap from 25 to 18 points. Tomac fell from second to third and is now in fourth place in the standings.
Musquin knew it was time for a breakthrough win.
“The competition is pretty tough,” he said. “I had a great start. I rode my race the whole time. I was just trying to be consistent and ride until the checkered flag.”
In the 250SX series, Justin Hill took advantage of a mechanical problem by race leader Shane McElrath to win the race and extend his points lead.
McElrath led the first 15 laps and was up by nearly four seconds when he went to the pits with an issue on his KTM motorcycle. That allowed Hill to ease past him and win the race by 2.005 seconds over Austin Forkner. Aaron Plessinger finished third and McElrath finished last in the 22-cycle field.
Hill led the final five laps of the race, which was set at 15 minutes plus one lap.
It was the fourth straight win for Hill, who came into the race with a one-point lead over McElrath. But McElrath finished 22nd and last in the main event, dropping him to third in the standings. Hill now leads Plessinger by 21 points and McElrath by 25.
“It’s a bummer for Shane,” Hill said. “I wanted to race him straight up. We have a points lead. We have four wins in a row. I want to win every single week. It wasn’t as exciting a race tonight as we’re used to. I want to give everyone something to see.”
This story was originally published February 11, 2017 at 8:38 PM with the headline "Frenchman routs 22-cycle field in Arlington to win first Supercross main event."