MOVIE: WATCH AND LEARN WITH MARVIN MUSQUIN
The Frenchman has built his career upon a light, airy riding form that’s both smooth yet aggressive. Far from muscle-bound, Musquin has a natural ability to make the bike and the track work for him, bouncing where others bash and floating where others flail.
Watch for yourself in the video below:
His move to the 450 Class in 2016 was met with slight skepticism. The slender rider had proven his ability to handle the lighter 250cc machines, but the far more powerful premier-class motorcycles require a different, more patient form of riding. Now in his second full season of 450cc racing, Musquin has successfully translated his signature style to the bigger machines, bringing home both Supercross and motocross wins aboard his Red Bull KTM.
During a recent training session at the well-known SoCal motocross haunt, Pala Raceway, Musquin put his factory machine through its paces. Examining his form, a motocross historian would point to the influences of former French racing legends like Jean-Michel Bayle or David Vuillemin.
Indeed, all three came from Europe as highly touted foreigners with World Motocross GP credentials and quickly proved that there’s more than one way to go fast on a dirt bike.
Bayle showed the world how to go fast without looking like you’re trying, while Vuillemin introduced a certain athleticism with his lanky frame, which moved and curled around the machine so much that he earned the nickname ‘Le Cobra.’
Musquin falls somewhere in the middle and has become especially known for his creative line selection and ability to jump through whoops as both a means of going faster and saving energy, finding rhythm sections on segments of tracks where none existed before.
This year in the Lucas Oil AMA Outdoor National Motocross Championship, Musquin suddenly inherited the reins as Red Bull KTM’s number one rider when his former team-mate, Ryan Dungey“>Ryan Dungey, announced his retirement immediately following the end of the 2017 AMA Supercross series. So far, Musquin has done his job of holding the orange flag, capturing victories and at one point leading the championship points standings. In other words, if you’re a racer searching for an edge on your competition, just watch and learn.