HURLEY PODIUMS AT CONONDALE
 Team
Shift Motul Suzuki's Daryl Hurley collected more valuable
points in the 2008 Australian Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross
Nationals at the weekend, with a pair of third-place finishes
in round three at Conondale in Queensland.
Hurley's points haul sees the New Zealander remain within
striking distance of the series lead, while team-mate Luke
Burkhart pushed through the pain barrier to contest Moto 2
after a heavy crash in Moto 1.
Again showing blistering speed on the fuel-injected Suzuki
RM-Z450, Hurley headed a Team Shift Motul Suzuki 1-3 result
in qualifying, with Burkhart a strong third.
In each Moto, Hurley put in mature rides to finish third,
banking valuable championship points in the process to consolidate
his top-three position in the series.
While Hurley had a clean run in Moto 1, Burkhart was caught
up in a first-corner accident in which he was ridden over
by several other riders.
Despite heavy upper-body bruising and a suspected broken
finger, he lined up for Moto 2 just three hours later and
fought on to finish 12th.
With Matt Moss still sidelined by injury, Lawson Bopping
flew the flag for Suzuki in Pro Lites. He qualified an impressive
fifth-fastest on his RM-Z250 before finishing 18th in Moto
1 and 21st in Moto 2.
Round four of the 2008 Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals
will be held at Raymond Terrace, New South Wales - Team Shift
Motul Suzuki's home track - on 18 May.
Daryl Hurley:
"The Team Shift Motul Suzuki crew have done a lot of
work on the RM-Z450 since Horsham and it really paid off in
qualifying. Luke and I had a lot of speed. The bike worked
well in the races, but I lost some positions at the start
of each Moto and was playing catch-up after that. A pair of
thirds isn't the result we were hoping for, but we still picked
up a good bunch of championship points as we turn our attention
to Raymond Terrace."
Luke Burkhart:
"After qualifying third I was aiming to finish Moto
1 on the podium, but it didn't go to plan. Going into the
first corner I copped a huge hit and as the field came through.
I was run over by at least three other riders; I'm pretty
banged up but I'm lucky to get out of it with just a suspected
broken finger and bruising. It's very important to keep the
points ticking over all year, so I made sure I got back out
there for Moto 2. I definitely wasn't 100%, but finishing
12th means we only lost one place in the championship."
Jay Foreman - Team Manager:
"We made more progress with the new RM-Z450 between
rounds and our whole team performed at the highest level all
weekend.
"Consistency is very important across a long season,
and Daryl rode with great maturity and determination to finish
third in each Moto, and remain well and truly in championship
contention. Like Daryl, Luke put in a sensational performance
in qualifying and he was looking set for a big weekend. Unfortunately
he was knocked around very badly in the Moto 1 crash, but
showed a lot of guts to get back out there in Moto 2 and pick
up a solid finish.
"We've had a bit of bad luck in these first three rounds,
but there have been a lot of positives, so we're all really
looking forward to our home event at Raymond Terrace in two
weeks time."
Pro Open Standings (after 3 rounds): 1 Craig
Anderson 136, 2 Jay Marmont 132, 3 Daryl Hurley (Suzuki RM-Z450)
125, 4 Daniel McCoy 91, 5 Luke Burkhart (Suzuki RM-Z450) 85.
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