VOL. 54 ISSUE 34 AUGUST 29, 2017 P59
able to get into the lead and feel more
comfortable on the bike and on the track.
I was not pushing too hard. I was trying
to be smooth and get some speed, and
Blake Baggett was behind, and I knew I
had to get in front of him to have a chance
at second in the championship, and that
was the goal today. It would've been very,
very bad luck for Tomac not to win the
championship today. I had a good gap at
the end. Unfortunately I didn't get a good
drive, and I still wanted to go over that
double, and I bounced and lost balance,
and went out of control and unfortunately
crashed. It was a big bummer because I
really felt great and I really wanted to get
that last win. But congratulations to Eli
Tomac and also Blake Baggett. It was a
great year. I've been winning some races,
and that was the goal."
"I don't even think about [the champion-
ship], especially after that second moto
last weekend where I got fourth place,"
Musquin said about his shot at the 450MX
title. "It was a bummer, so just today, I
don't even think about the championship,
but I just want to try to win the race."
He challenged Herlings for a while in
the first moto before falling behind, but he
was much closer to Herlings than Baggett
(in third) was to him. Second in the open-
ing moto is as good as first, as they say.
In the second moto after his awkward
get-off on the last lap, Musquin was up
quickly, but had to settle for second with
a 2-2 score for the day, good enough to
award him second in the championship.
"I felt great today," Musquin said. "I had
a good battle with Jeffrey [Herlings] in the
first moto, and in the second moto I was
(Left) Blake
Baggett again
rode well
despite riding
with an injured
thumb that
will require
surgery.
(Right) Tomac
will now head
to the U.S.GP
in Florida and
try to return
the favor on
Herlings and
the everyone
else.
