Queensland Suzuki Dealer Team debut RMZ450

by Dave · March 26, 2008

The Motul M2R QSDT riders debuted the new fuel injected RM-Z450 K8 at round one of the 2008 Queensland Motocross State Championship in Townsville over the Easter weekend.

Zak Newsome

The Motul, M2R, QSDT riders debut the new fuel injected RM-Z450K8 at round one of the State Championship.

Townsville hosted round one of the Queensland Motocross championships over the Easter long weekend. 455 riders were greeted with perfect track conditions and weather us Southerners can only dream about. With all the State’s top competitors in attendance the Townsville fans were treated to some fantastic racing over the weekend.

The QSDT boy’s finally got their dirty mitts on their new fuel injected RM-Z450K8 race bikes just days before the event. With little time for set-up Joe and Zak put the new bikes to good use with great results on both days of racing. Team Moto’s Nathan Crawford Jr rode to a comfortable result in Townsville. He adapted quickly to the rough circuit and ran fast in the first moto on Saturday, before a small fall saw him drop to 13th position.

Moto two and three on Sunday had the rookie 85cc rider finishing 9th and 14th on the chopped out circuit for 12th overall on the day. “I just wasn’t on my game over the weekend. I was fast early on in all three races, but I just struggled toward the end of each moto. I’m not used to the longer moto’s at state titles” said Nathan.

Zak Newsome of Fairway Cycles had his first outing in the Open class at Townsville. He qualified through to the finals on Saturday morning with no issues. Armed with his new 08 RM-Z450 Zak started well and rode strong on the rough hard pack circuit to post 13th, 12th and 13th in the three Pro Open moto’s. He finished round one of the Titles in 14th position. The Lite’s Championship saw Zak post his best results so far this season.

Zak rode strong in the very competitive Pro Lite’s class to finish 8th, 9th and 8th to end the day in 6th position. Zak proved in Townsville that he is ready for the Pro Class full time in 2009.

“My weekend went great. I proved I have the speed to run at the front in the pro Lite’s class with my results. I struggled on the 450. It just has so much power I couldn’t keep the front wheel on the ground. I’m going to ride the 450 this week before Gladstone to get more comfortable on it” Newsome said

Joe Hobson of Springwood Suzuki had a perfect start to the weekend. He blasted out of the gate in the first Pro Open moto in second position on his new fuel injected RM-Z450 behind Todd Waters (Motorex KTM). The pair set a blistering pace and kept within a couple of seconds of each other for the entire race. Joe failed to finish race two and three of the open class after he was involved in a crash in one of his Lite’s races. In the Pro Lite’s class Joe showed impressive speed on the rough demanding Townsville circuit to post two 5th positions in the first two races. Race three saw Joe and half the field involved in a huge first corner pile up. Joe dislocated his thumb and was unable to continue racing.

“I’m disappointed with the out come of the weekend. I’m training and riding really hard, but just keep getting caught up with other riders” said Hobson

9-11 years 85cc

1^st Joel Dinsdale (Yam)
2^nd Jesse Dobson (Ktm)
3^rd Nick Scott (Ktm)
12^th Nathan Crawford (Suz)