Cooper Webb struggles on opening night in Houston - marvel Marv storms back to SX racing
By Press Release on 18th Jan 21
AMA Supercross Marvin Musquin Cooper Webb Houston Maximus Vohland
Red Bull KTM Factory Racings Marvin Musquin stormed into the 2021 AMA Supercross Championship with a rock-solid performance in Saturdays Main Event, where he earned a spot on the 450SX podium in third.
Taking place at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, the opener also kicked off the 250SX Eastern Regional Championship, where Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rookie, Maximus Vohland, captured an impressive top-10 finish in his professional supercross debut.
Musquin, who missed the entire 2020 Supercross Championship due to injury, came into the opening round ready to race, securing a top-three qualifying position in the stacked field of 450SX riders.
He powered his KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION to a top-five start in 450SX Heat 2 and he quickly moved into fourth on the opening lap. He battled inside the top-five early on but a crash late in the race sent him back a few positions, ultimately salvaging an eighth-place transfer to the Main Event.
In the main, Musquin had a swift jump off the start and he charged to the first turn, capturing the holeshot in his first Supercross Main Event in quite some time. He diced around the top-five early on but he really found his groove in the second half and continued charging into a podium position by lap 13.
From there, Musquin focused his energy on maintaining a comfortable gap over the fourth-place rider and he did just that placing his Red Bull KTM Factory Racing machine on the podium once again in Supercross.
"Its good to be back," said Musquin. "I had a great start in the Main Event, they were a little more aggressive than me right away, its been a long time since Ive raced supercross, but we did everything we could to be ready for the first round.
"I knew the starts were going to be important and Im super happy I made that happen and put myself in a good position to fight for a podium. Im happy with the changes on the bike and I feel like the fitness will only get better and better with racing."
Marvin Musquin
For Webb, it wasnt the season opener hed hoped for but the 2019 450SX Champion made the best of his night in Houston. In 450SX Heat 2, Webb shot off the line aboard his KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION, where he captured the holeshot and was able to create a decent gap early on. He was soon joined by Zach Osborne, who ended up getting by him late in the race, giving Webb a second-place finish in the heat.
He didnt get off to a great start in the Main Event so he immediately put his head down and charged through the pack. Climbing into the top-10 early on, Webb maintained a solid pace but he wasnt able to maximise passing opportunities late in the race. After 28 laps of pure battle, Webb finished just inside the top-10 with a ninth-place position at Round One.
"The heat race went pretty good for me, I got the holeshot and led a majority of it and got second," said Webb. "In the Main Event, I got a really bad start and just struggled to come through. The track was really hard to gain time on tonight and I made a few passes but I struggled. Well look to get a lot better for Tuesday."
250SX East
In the 250SX Eastern division, Maximus Vohland, fresh off a successful amateur racing career, dove right into his professional Supercross debut with a favourable third-place start in 250SX Heat 1. He mixed it up with some of the top riders in the class, bouncing back-and-forth inside the top-five.
Maximus Vohland
He made his way up to third halfway through and fell just short of a podium finish in his first-ever heat race attempt.
With a solid gate choice heading into the Main Event, Vohland secured a top-10 start aboard the KTM 250 SX-F. A crash shuffled him back to 12th early on but the young rookie diligently worked his way up to ninth just before the halfway mark. He kept his focus laser-sharp throughout the remaining laps, where he secured an impressive ninth-place finish on his debut.
"The first race went good," said Vohland. "I made some mistakes but its a learning experience and well make sure to come back on Tuesday to fix those little tweaks.
"The goal was top-10 and thats what I achieved tonight, so were happy with that, and well pick up on a couple of those things and try to come back and get a better result on Tuesday."
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