SUZUKI WINS AUSTRALIAN MOTOCROSS TITLE
05 July 2005 - Suzuki Racing

Team Shift Motul Suzuki''s Daryl Hurley sealed his and the new RM-Z450s first Australian motocross series victory this weekend with yet another dominant performance in the final round of the 2005 Motocross Championship in Conondale in Queensland.

Entering the event with a five-point advantage, the New Zealander was quickest from the outset, outclassing his rivals in qualifying and greeting the chequered flag with a convincing margin in both of the day''s races.

However, a controversial 15-second penalty in the first moto for allegedly failing to slow sufficiently under yellow flag conditions stripped Hurley of the race win and dropping him to third, one position behind his main series rival Darryll King.

With the series set up for a nail-biting finale in the last race, the 29-year-old Suzuki star''s championship aspirations were riding on the outcome of moto two.

Fired up after his first-race penalty, Hurley crushed his opposition in moto two, rocketing out of the starting gates and was already several bike lengths in the lead as he took the first-turn holeshot.

Hurley''s phenomenally quick opening lap was to be the fastest of the race and set the pace for the rest of the 30-minute contest as Hurley continued to put distance between himself and the rest of the pack.

Riding the all-new Suzuki RM-Z450 four-stroke to victory in its Australian debut season, Hurley delivered Suzuki its first national series win since the 1999 Supercross 250cc Championship when the team took the title with Aussie star Chad Reed.

''This is an awesome feeling. We''ve all put in a lot of hard work and it has paid off for us with championship top honours,'' said Hurley.

''There has been a lot of pressure on us since the round in Tasmania so I''m just so relieved that it''s all over and we have won the title for Team Shift Motul Suzuki.

''Finishing the series at Conondale was a great. There''s been lots of rain and the circuit is very similar to a practice track I use back in New Zealand so I was really familiar with the conditions and was able to get great traction. I was very comfortable and my Suzuki was perfect out there.''

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