Image: Octopi Media.

An upward trend in results continued at Unadilla for Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin with the Frenchman taking his first overall podium of the season after reverting to previous bike settings.

After keeping himself in title contention for much of last season, the first six rounds of the 2021 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship did not go to plan for Musquin.

Notching just a pair of seventh places as his best results, Musquin bounced back with a strong ride in round seven at Washougal to take fourth place, securing his first moto podium of the season with a 3-5 scorecard on the day.

Following the two-weekend hiatus in the series, the Frenchman had a consistent day last weekend at Unadilla, taking home a pair of fourth-place finishes for third overall on the day, a goal he had in mind heading to New York for round eight.

“Obviously that was my goal to get a podium,” Musquin explained. “I know it’s been a tough season, but there are so many good guys out there that are capable of getting podiums, and yeah, you can see today the results have been a little inconsistent from other guys and I was a little bit more consistent with a 4-4 and landed on the podium.

“So it definitely feels good, I love Unadilla it’s a really good track. They’ve made a couple of changes and they made it super good. I’ve had good results here so definitely that was my goal to try and get a podium. So now I just want to finish the season and be consistent and be out there and at least be able to fight for podium positions, that’s my goal.”

Musquin was seventh in the opening round and admittedly felt like he was riding well. A struggle to find a comfortable setting on the bike, however, held him back as the season went on. After recently reverting to some older settings, Musquin has started to find a rhythm.

“I feel like at Pala right away I was riding pretty good, but I never put myself in a good position right away,” he continued. “But I don’t know, the transition always from supercross to motocross is a little bit tough. We tried to make the bike a little bit better and obviously, it’s kind of easy to get lost.

“We never really found a good setting and we went back to some original settings that I’ve had and known for the last few years, so it’s a little bit better now and we’re trying to stick to it. I think it’s important to not change too much and even though you want to try to improve your bike and everything.”

Aside from the settings, the depth of talent in the 450MX class has brought its own challenges, as the level continues to progress at a rapid rate season over season.

“But I don’t know, it’s been a weird season obviously and a tough season, but the competition is super tough,” he concluded. “I feel like I rode really, really well at Washougal so that felt good. I feel like I rode really good but if it would have been a couple years ago I definitely would have been on the podium or winning with that speed.

“So it tells you that the level of the competition now is really high and getting better year. So I need to keep working on that, but definitely today I showed a little better speed, better riding, and it’s a positive for the end of the season.”

Musquin will get the opportunity to carry his momentum to Budds Creek this weekend as the series heads to Maryland for round nine with just four rounds to go.