Team Motul Suzuki rider Glenn Allerton has won the 2005 Maxxis Australian Supermoto Championship aboard his RM-Z450.He finished 21 points clear of his nearest rival after strong performances in round three wrapped up a resounding win in the series when Sunday's final round of the series was cancelled due to flooding at the Newcastle circuit in New South Wales.
"This is just fantastic; I really wanted to win this championship for Suzuki. The RM-Z450 is the fastest Supermoto I've ever ridden; the engine has so much bottom end power, it's awesome."
The hotly-contested championship saw the country's best road racers and off-road riders go head-to-head on a bitumen-dirt combination circuit in a battle for outright supremacy.
Having claimed the 2005 Australian Superbike Rookie of the Year with Team Suzuki, Allerton joined the Suzuki Supermoto Team, spearheading the S2 class championship assault aboard the four-stroke RM-Z450.
Contesting four eight-lap races for round three on Saturday, Allerton's main rival Troy Herfoss crashed out and broke his arm in the first race, removing much pressure from the Suzuki rider.
"We definitely had the speed to win races, but with Herfoss out I didn't need to push as hard to get a few extra points and I wasn't going to do anything silly and throw it all away.
Applying intense pressure and trying to force a mistake from his opponents, Allerton was all over the back of other leading riders including Shannon Johnson and Stuart Bennett, but in a mature ride, the 24 year old was not prepared to risk the championship with any desperate passing manoeuvres.
Allerton set the fastest lap times in each of his races, scored two second-place finishes and two third places to secure third outright for the round.
Proceedings began on Sunday with the morning practice session in the rain followed by a rain-soaked qualifying session in which Allerton was second fastest. A storm ensued and the track began flooding in areas and, after a couple hours of heavy rain and no sign of easing, the event was finally cancelled for safety reasons.
Team Motul Suzuki Team Manager, Jay Foreman was delighted with the result in his home town of Newcastle.
He said: "What a great way to finish the year! Glenn rode with his head and produced some good sensible racing here to deliver the championship.
"The RM-Z450 has now won two Australian championships in its first year of competition - it's such a fantastic bike.
"This is great for the team - first a win in the Australian Motocross Championship with Daryl Hurley aboard the RM-Z450, then we dominated much of the Supercross Championship and now we can add the Supermoto title."
Source: Team Suzuki Press Office