Autotrader/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Motocross Race Team Competes at RedBud National
Riding the all-new Suzuki RM-Z450, Justin Hill of the Autotrader/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory-sponsored race team charted a fourth-place finish in the second moto of the 450 class at the recent RedBud National held in Buchanan, Michigan, in early July. RedBud National marked round seven of the 2018 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, and Hill’s second moto finish helped him secure sixth place overall for the weekend. Also riding an RM-Z450, teammate Justin Bogle finished 23rd overall for the weekend despite still working his way back from a broken upper arm. In the event’s 250 class, team member Jimmy Decotis road a Suzuki RM-Z250 to a 27th-place overall finish. All three riders are members of the JGRMX (Joe Gibbs Racing Motocross) organization.
Hard-Hitting
Suzuki Cycles says Hill now sits 11th overall in the 2018 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship points standings following RedBud National, where he charted 10-4 moto scores. Noting the riding challenges that RedBud presented (“they ripped it deep, which formed a ton of challenging ruts”), team manager Jeremy Albrecht said Bogle “nailed the holeshot,” which speaks to “how fast the RM-Z450 is.” Elsewhere, teammate Weston Peick continued a string of top-10 finishes by riding to 8-11 moto scores to finish ninth overall. Also known as “The Viking,” Peick now sits sixth overall in the 450 class points standings.
Suzuki says the RM-Z450 is the culmination of 40-plus years of open-class race bike engineering, leaving it “the hardest-hitting, sharpest-handling, best-balanced, and more rider-friendly production motocrosser” in Suzuki’s history. Completely rebuilt for 2018, the bike features a new 449cc liquid-cooled four-stroke, four-valve DOHC engine and is packed with features focused on increased engine performance, advanced cornering, and better braking performance, as well as “functional styling.”
On To Spring Creek
In the 250 class at RedBud National, Suzuki reports that Decotis was hampered by “a couple of bad starts and crashes” on his way to 27-24 moto scores. Albrecht says that while Decotis “has the speed and stamina,” the crash in the event’s first moto and the bike stalling in the second moto “took the wind out of his sails.”
The Autotrader/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing Team resumes racing on July 21 for round eight of the 2018 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship at the Spring Creek circuit in Millville, Minnesota.
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Source: Suzuki