Posts
6946
Joined
10/11/2008
Location
Portland, OR
US
Edited Date/Time
1/27/2012 1:17pm
What I'm most impressed with about Marvin Musquin is the journey he's taken to get there. He had decent success on 80's in France and finished top 3 in the Jr worlds on 125's in 2006 but he didn't exactly light it up when he first went pro in the GP's.
His first GP ever was Faenza late in the 2007 GP series. Just like ama amateurs at the last few rounds of the nationals Marvin comes out knowing he has to try and impress and make sure he gets some kind of help for the next year. The kid goes to work and pulls a 6th in his first GP heat and proved he had speed. He ends up doing horrible in the 2nd heat and he did pretty bad at the 1 other GP he raced in 07 but that one 6th in the first heat at Faenza was enough to get him help in 08.
In 2008 he wasn't a presence in the GP series really at all. His best was like a 8th overall in Germany and I think he maybe got one other top 10 the whole year. He was pretty much a consistent top 20 guy and he finished 14th in the series. I consider 2008 his rookie year and I would equate Marvins rookie year to someone like PJ Larsons rookie season last year. Or Zach Osbornes rookie ama year. Like PJ and Zach he would show at times top 5 speed but for the most part finished 11-20th overall.
Then Bamn!! 2009 appears.. The kid just shows up on what we in the states would consider a privateer Honda and just starts killing it. The kids confidence grew faster than anything I've witnessed in a long time and he started consistently landing on the podium and getting wins. Just imagine if PJ Larson was dominating the AMA this year instead of the Aussie nationals. That's the equivalent to what Marvin did in the GP's in 2009. I don't know what the hell happened during the off season between 08-09 but whatever it was it worked and it was impressive to watch happen.
During this time Stefan Everts was watching this phenom happen and coming up with scenarios, plays and strings he could pull to try and get Marvin on a orange bike. Then one of Stefan's scenarios happen and Shawn Simpson goes down with an injury. Then Stefan puts all those plays and pulled strings into full effect and literally steals Marvin away from his Honda team. Wasn't hard to convince Marvin to go since the Honda team was paying him nothing. They basically just provided him a bike and entry so it was a no brainer for Marvin. Marvin wins something like his first 6 motos on the orange bike and then Marvin even ends up missing a whole GP because KTM was being sued by his former Honda team. He still comes out and kills the last few rounds to win the mx2 title.
It has been a fun ride to watch filled with hard work ,dedication and some soap opera drama and I'm sure the best is yet to come.
The Marvin Musquin Story goes back to what I've said 1000 x's and recently while talking about Zach Osborne. You can't quit on the kids too quickly. In America when you ride around in 11-15th you end up getting shipped off (no offense Aussies) to Australia (PJ Larson) or to the GP's (Zach) if you're lucky. Most just end up on crappy equipment in the states and end up fading away like they weren't ever there. I know it would never happen but I wish sometimes that rookies were guaranteed three years to get there. The way it is now they get 1 maybe two years tops with a decent team to start getting on the podium or win. If not you got to go. I guarantee we've lost quite a few Marvin Musquins over the years because they just didn't get there fast enough.
His first GP ever was Faenza late in the 2007 GP series. Just like ama amateurs at the last few rounds of the nationals Marvin comes out knowing he has to try and impress and make sure he gets some kind of help for the next year. The kid goes to work and pulls a 6th in his first GP heat and proved he had speed. He ends up doing horrible in the 2nd heat and he did pretty bad at the 1 other GP he raced in 07 but that one 6th in the first heat at Faenza was enough to get him help in 08.
In 2008 he wasn't a presence in the GP series really at all. His best was like a 8th overall in Germany and I think he maybe got one other top 10 the whole year. He was pretty much a consistent top 20 guy and he finished 14th in the series. I consider 2008 his rookie year and I would equate Marvins rookie year to someone like PJ Larsons rookie season last year. Or Zach Osbornes rookie ama year. Like PJ and Zach he would show at times top 5 speed but for the most part finished 11-20th overall.
Then Bamn!! 2009 appears.. The kid just shows up on what we in the states would consider a privateer Honda and just starts killing it. The kids confidence grew faster than anything I've witnessed in a long time and he started consistently landing on the podium and getting wins. Just imagine if PJ Larson was dominating the AMA this year instead of the Aussie nationals. That's the equivalent to what Marvin did in the GP's in 2009. I don't know what the hell happened during the off season between 08-09 but whatever it was it worked and it was impressive to watch happen.
During this time Stefan Everts was watching this phenom happen and coming up with scenarios, plays and strings he could pull to try and get Marvin on a orange bike. Then one of Stefan's scenarios happen and Shawn Simpson goes down with an injury. Then Stefan puts all those plays and pulled strings into full effect and literally steals Marvin away from his Honda team. Wasn't hard to convince Marvin to go since the Honda team was paying him nothing. They basically just provided him a bike and entry so it was a no brainer for Marvin. Marvin wins something like his first 6 motos on the orange bike and then Marvin even ends up missing a whole GP because KTM was being sued by his former Honda team. He still comes out and kills the last few rounds to win the mx2 title.
It has been a fun ride to watch filled with hard work ,dedication and some soap opera drama and I'm sure the best is yet to come.
The Marvin Musquin Story goes back to what I've said 1000 x's and recently while talking about Zach Osborne. You can't quit on the kids too quickly. In America when you ride around in 11-15th you end up getting shipped off (no offense Aussies) to Australia (PJ Larson) or to the GP's (Zach) if you're lucky. Most just end up on crappy equipment in the states and end up fading away like they weren't ever there. I know it would never happen but I wish sometimes that rookies were guaranteed three years to get there. The way it is now they get 1 maybe two years tops with a decent team to start getting on the podium or win. If not you got to go. I guarantee we've lost quite a few Marvin Musquins over the years because they just didn't get there fast enough.
And yes, this sport, as many sports, fails to recognize late bloomers. Not everyone hits their prime at 17. It's a shame.
The big turn for MM is his association with Yannig Kervella former top racer and coach to Bolley and Tortelli they are really working well together.
And marvin signed with that Honda privateer team so that his brother would get a ride as well. When KTM came knocking on the door the team wasn't sure whether they would be able to finish the season due to budget issue and marvin was riding for free...
The Shop
Seems real genuine.
Simple fact is for every Barcia, Tomac, Stewart there are a heap of kids who get the wrong advice or bad luck and just need some time to get their shit together...
Tickle is a great example, some random injuries, not the class leader but I wouldn't be surprised to see him on a PC250 next year and winning a regional title...
Can't wait to see Marvin in SX!
Isnt he only 20yrs old? thought i read that over the weekend and was surprised he was so young (was figuring at least 22ish)
Marvin is even a better SX rider and all smiles. Look out Pourcel!
BTW....watching the USGP was awesome! Some of those dudes have some cool style for sure! And Marvin........the dude is a class act , and an animal on a bike! Total respect man!
About his Honda deal, things are not simple since when the Hond team picked him up, the kid had no options and had already rudely ditched BUD Racing. He was supposed to get payed, but because of Giuseppe's uses they ran out of money, racing on the personal dime of the manager, who's not rich at all. The guy helped Marvin to get a red plate and got ditched like a piece of crap. Now his team isn't in GP's anymore.
Can't really put the blame on Marvin though, an athlete has to think about his career first and the choice was a no brainer as you said. If only Honda would have helped a little bit the team since they had the red plate he would have most likely finished the season in his team and get them a title.
As far as the Honda situation w/Marvin like you said that's all Guiseppes fault. When a team is carrying the red plate they should be getting enough purse and or sponsor money to pay the rider. It's very unfortunate that the GP's are run by a money hungry,greedy dictator that because he's such a douche bag has to travel with body guards. It's very sad that a team that pretty much discovered and brought up a talent like Marvin and pretty much won the title last year is completely out of the GP's now.
Pit Row
Just sayin...
It's a good story but I wouldn't say a great story. A great story would be something like this:
Roger Douchewally was born with no limbs and the doctors told him at the age of two that he would never ride motocross. But, through the miracle of prosthetics he was ambulatory at the age of six. Always the optimist, Douchewally persevered being involved in several stem cell clinical trials that netted him the missing limbs by the age of thirteen. Armed with renewed confidence (pardon the pun), he began racing motocross and quickly advanced through the ranks. Pundits speculated that a factory ride was forthcoming. But as fate would have it, a camaraderie with a fellow rider named Lawrence derailed his lifelong ambitions and sent him tailspinning into a world of anti social behavior and drunken delusory where he emerged a wiser but less athletically inclined individual. Today, Douchewally coaches aspiring young motocrossers to 'never bite the hand that feeds you'...
Wow! That is indeed a great story.
Another great story is a kid who ended up paralyzed after a bad moto accident and came back to win 2 SX titles and almost 2 MX titles when it was pretty obvious that he is still dealing with the accident side effects.
My theory is that the Marvin's love fest will last until he starts spanking the local boys. Then the haters will come out in force.
OOH AMEN!
Post a reply to: Marvin Musquin is a great story.