It was a rough and technical day of racing at the Unadilla National and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Marvin Musquin proved that he was up for the challenge as he boasted a season-best third overall in the premier 450MX class at Round 8 of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship. Teammate Max Vohland also put forth his best performance of the season, claiming 6-5 moto scores in the 250MX class to secure a career-best fifth overall in his rookie season.
Musquin, the sixth-place qualifier, found himself back in eighth off the start of Moto 1 and he put his head down to charge into a top-five position early on. He powered his KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION into fourth just after the halfway point and quickly set his sights on catching the podium battle ahead. Despite charging his way into striking distance of the third, Musquin wasn’t able to make the podium pass stick and he ended up with a solid fourth. In Moto 2, he grabbed a fifth-place start and quickly worked his way into fourth by the second lap. He maintained a good pace throughout the rest of the moto but the top-three riders were just out of reach, giving him fourth-place in the moto but third overall on the day with consistent 4-4 moto scores.
Musquin: “It was a good weekend and I felt good right away, I love Unadilla! In the first moto, I came back to fifth and started fighting with Tomac. I was looking forward to passing him but I landed in a hole on the finish line jump and thought I broke something in the shock or the wheel, so I slowed down big time to make sure everything was fine and I lost connection with him. In the second moto, I put myself in a good position but I was never capable of putting an attack on Dylan for third. Trying to pass the lappers was pretty tough with all the ruts and I couldn’t do much more, so 4-4 on the podium in third place is a good positive.”
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Cooper Webb saw one of his most consistent days of the summer as he battled inside the top-five all day. With a nice start aboard his KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION in Moto 1, Webb’s third-place start turned into fifth on lap one after swerving to avoid a crash at the end of the holeshot straight. He lost momentum and shuffled back a few spots early on but he managed to bounce back and secure fifth. In Moto 2, Webb had another great start in third and he fought hard inside the top-five throughout the race. Finishing just behind Musquin once again in Moto 2, Webb landed two top-five finishes to come away with sixth overall for the day.
Webb: “Today was a pretty good day. My starts were good in both motos, which helped. I didn’t ride too great in the first moto but I felt a lot better in the second moto – we made a complete bike change for the second moto and it worked out a lot better. So 5-5, it was definitely a better day and we’ll keep building to try and get better for Budds Creek.”
Max Vohland had a great start in Moto 1, battling just outside podium contention in fourth for the first two laps. Settling into fifth early on, the rookie held his own amongst some of the veterans in the class and he finished strong with a season-best sixth in the first moto. In Moto 2, Vohland got off to another solid start – despite having to avoid chaos on the opening lap – and he battled in seventh early on. Making the pass for sixth on lap four, Vohland continued to charge into the top-five, where he secured yet another career-best moto-finish in fifth. With 6-5 scores, Vohland earned the first top-five overall finish of his young career at Unadilla.
Vohland: “Today went really well. The track was super brutal and I found myself getting shuffled back a lot but I put in good charges in both motos to go 6-5 for fifth overall, which is a career-best for me and I’m looking to carry this momentum into next weekend at Budds Creek.”
The AMA Pro Motocross Championship will return to racing next Saturday, August 21 with the Budds Creek National in Mechanicsville, Maryland.
Results 450MX Class – Unadilla National
1. Ken Roczen (GER), Honda, 1-1
2. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA), Yamaha, 2-3
3. Marvin Musquin (FRA), KTM, 4-4
OTHER KTM
6. Cooper Webb (USA), KTM, 5-5
9. Justin Bogle (USA), KTM
13. Joey Savatgy (USA), KTM
14. Chris Canning (USA), KTM
20. Ben LaMay (USA), KTM
27. Nathen LaPorte (USA), KTM
30. Nicolas Rolando (USA), KTM
35. Trevor Schmidt (USA), KTM
40. Jonah Geistler (USA), KTM
Results 250MX Class – Unadilla National
1. Jett Lawrence (AUS), Honda, 2-1
2. Justin Cooper (USA), Yamaha, 1-4
3. Jeremy Martin (USA), Yamaha, 3-2
OTHER KTM
5. Max Vohland (USA), KTM, 6-5
15. Josh Varize (USA), KTM
20. Xylian Ramella (SWI), KTM
21. Christopher Prebula (USA), KTM
26. Vincent Luhovey (USA), KTM
38. Stephen Hooker (USA), KTM
41. Dennis Gritzmacher (USA), KTM
Standings 450MX Class 2021 after 8 of 12 rounds
1. Dylan Ferrandis, 345 points
2. Ken Roczen, 306
3. Eli Tomac, 283
OTHER KTM
7. Marvin Musquin, 213
9. Cooper Webb, 209
10. Joey Savatgy, 160
14. Justin Bogle, 107
17. Fredrik Noren, 58
Standings 250MX Class 2021 after 8 of 12 rounds
1. Justin Cooper, 324 points
2. Jett Lawrence, 320
3. Hunter Lawrence, 263
OTHER KTM
11. Max Vohland, 151
19. Josh Varize, 56