Nearly one year after suffering a bitter defeat in Atlanta, Marvin Musquin broke through to capture his first career 450SX victory inside AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The Frenchman rocketed out to the holeshot and rode a dominant race, ultimately taking a five-second victory over Cole Seely. Musquin’s training partner Jason Anderson rounded out the podium.

“I grabbed the holeshot on the restart and just tried to focus on what was in front of me. It was so easy to make a mistake out there tonight,” said Musquin. “This [victory] feels so good, to stand up here [on top of the podium] for the first time in my career. I’ve dreamed of this since I was a little boy in France and would like to dedicate this to my brother, who has been so supportive of me and gone through difficult times the past few years.”

Championship leader Ryan Dungey overcame a bad start to finish fourth. Despite failing to land on the podium, Dungey extended his championship lead to 18 over Musquin. Eli Tomac, who entered the night second in points, fell to fourth (-29) following a crash early in the race.

Dean Wilson, Broc Tickle, Jake Weimer, Davi Millsaps, Justin Bogle and Malcolm Stewart rounded out the top 10. Missing from that list is the Yamaha duo of Cooper Webb and Chad Reed, who finished 14th and 19th, respectively, following bike problems.

In the 250SX Class, Justin Hill charged to his fourth consecutive victory aboard his Pro Circuit Kawasaki while title rival Shane Mcelrath suffered a mechanical failure. 

Mcelrath led the opening 15 laps before his bike gave out, turning the lead and eventual win over to Hill. Austin Forkner secured a career-best finish in second with Aaron Plessinger joining the Kawasaki duo on the podium.

“It was a tough break for Shane [McElrath] tonight. I hate to win like that but we never gave up all night,” said Hill. “This is the first time I’ve been in the championship fight this late in the season and I’m going to do all I can to bring it home. It’s great for the entire team to extend our lead heading into the break.”

Hill now holds a 21-point lead over Plessinger as the Western Regional 250SX Class takes a seven-week hiatus. Mcelrath fell to third in points, 25 points back.

450SX Class Results

1. Marvin Musquin
2. Cole Seely
3. Jason Anderson
4. Ryan Dungey
5. Dean Wilson
6. Broc Tickle
7. Jake Weimer
8. Davi Millsaps
9. Justin Bogle
10. Malcolm Stewart

250SX Class Results

1. Justin Hill
2. Austin Forkner
3. Aaron Plessinger
4. Jimmy Decotis
5. Dan Reardon
6. Jeremy Martin
7. Martin Davalos
8. Cole Martinez
9. Hayden Mellross
10. Kyle Chisholm

450SX Championship Standings

1. Ryan Dungey – 129
2. Marvin Musquin – 111
3. Cole Seely – 107
4. Eli Tomac – 100
5. Jason Anderson – 85
6. Davi Millsaps – 83
7. Cooper Webb – 71
8. Chad Reed – 64
9. Dean Wilson – 64
10. Broc Tickle – 55

Western Regional 250SX Championship Standings

1. Justin Hill – 138
2. Aaron Plessinger – 117
3. Shane Mcelrath – 113
4. Martin Davalos – 106
5. Jimmy Decotis – 91
6. Austin Forkner – 90
7. Dan Reardon – 72
8. Kyle Chisholm – 60
9. Jeremy Martin – 55
10. Phil Nicoletti – 54