HURLEY DOMINATES IN TASMANIA
Team Shift Motul Suzuki's Daryl Hurley has opened his 2008
Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals account with a dominant
display at round one in Tasmania, giving the new RM-Z450 a
winning debut in the Southern Hemisphere's toughest off-road
championship.
The New Zealander took out the weekend's opening race in
Penguin by 17 seconds and is sitting pretty atop the points
table after the first of eight rounds.
Aboard Suzuki's brand-new RM-Z450, Hurley blitzed his opposition
in the season's first Moto after qualifying in sixth position.
He took victory in style and was disappointed with a close
second place in race two after communication problems cost
him a clean sweep.
Leading by almost 20 seconds, Hurley backed off in the closing
laps to ensure a safe race victory but was unable to see his
pit-board and unaware of the closing Jay Marmont, who snuck
past on the final lap.
Also on the revolutionary new Suzuki RM-Z450, Hurley's compatriot
Luke Burkhart enjoyed a strong result; the young Kiwi finishing
the round in fourth position and full of praise for his new
machine.
The only downside to an otherwise great weekend for Team
Shift Motul Suzuki was an injury to Pro Lites youngster Matt
Moss, who crashed heavily during practice and sustained a
broken arm which will sideline him for at least two month.
He will now focus on his recovery and return to racing when
he is fully fit.
Round two of the 2008 Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals
will be held in Horsham (Victoria) this Sunday, April 13th.
Daryl Hurley:
"I can't thank Suzuki and my team enough for their work
preparing the new RM-Z450; it is easily the best bike I have
ever raced and unbelievably good...
"I'm very disappointed with the outcome of race two;
I couldn't see my mechanic's signals with exactly how far
back Jay Marmont was and didn't see him until he took the
lead with a few corners to go - needless to say it's a mistake
I won't make again.
"However to leave round one leading the championship
is a great result for Team Shift Motul Suzuki. We're really
looking forward to Horsham this weekend."
Luke Burkhart:
"I'm very happy with my results; it's a great start
to the year to be placed fourth after the first round.
"The new Suzuki RM-Z450 is awesome and all of the work
the guys have done over the off-season has really paid dividends.
I know I have the speed to win races this year so that's my
next target - I can't wait to get to Horsham next weekend
as I am determined to repay Suzuki Australia's faith in signing
me this year."
Matt Moss:
"I'm gutted and really disappointed. I'll be out for
a couple of months, all but ending my Motocross title hopes,
but I'll work on being fully fit and fast for the Supercross
championship.
"The form we showed pre-season makes it even more frustrating,
knowing that we were set to challenge for the Pro Lites title
this year."
Jay Foreman - Team Manager:
"We're really happy with the new Suzuki RM-Z450, it
is working incredibly well.
"Daryl has started the year in the best-possible fashion,
signalling his intentions to win the championship. It was
a fantastic result for Luke as well; he'll be someone to keep
an eye on as the title chase progresses.
"Unfortunately Matt had a big fall and is out injured
for a couple of months, but I know he'll come back stronger
and faster than ever."
Pro Open Results: 1 Daryl Hurley (Suzuki RM-Z450) 47, 2 Craig
Anderson 42, 3 Jay Marmont 40, 4 Luke Burkhart (Suzuki RM-Z450)
36, 5 Michael Addison 30, 6 Cameron Taylor 29, 7 Daniel McCoy
29, 8 Cheyne Boyd 27, 9 Peter Broxholme 23, 10 Nathan Crawford
20.
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