Musquin charged from 30th to sixth in race two at Hangtown.

Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin is the first recipient of the RC Hard Charger award for 2011 at round one of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship at Hangtown.

The award goes out to the rider who passes the most amount of competitors per round, symbolising the never surrender attitude that netted it’s namesake 102 AMA Pro Motocross wins and ten consecutive championships.

Hangtown marked the first time the 21 year old Frenchman has lined up on the startgate for 2011, after missing the AMA Supercross series with a knee injury suffered last Novemember before moving to the US.

After finishing fourth in the first moto, Musquin found himself in a second turn pileup in moto 2. Completing the first full lap in 30th position, Musquin was able to move up to 22nd by lap two, and claw all the way back to sixth by race end.

“I just kept racing, kept pushing,” Muquin remarked.”

“I was a little bit tired around maybe five minutes before the end, but my fitness was good. The track was really rough, but good, and my KTM is a good bike.”

Despite the second moto setback, Musquin seems quite happy after competing in his first ever AMA national.

“It was a lot different, but it was fun – I liked the change. Finally racing outdoors, it was a dream for me. Now it is my goal,” he commented.

Musquin’s resilient second moto effort gained him his goal of a top five overall for round one. Look for him to become even more of a contender as the series moves on to Freestone, Texas this weekend.