Australia’s Team Motul Suzuki played a major role for the 2005 SsangYong International Supermoto Pro class-winning team with American rider Cassidy Anderson at the Sydney Tennis Centre in New South Wales this week. Top riders from Australia, New Zealand and America went head to head in the high-speed, dirt-tar combination Supermoto event with RM-Z450-mounted Anderson placing third, second and second in the event’s three six-lap races to score second place overall. The result was a clean sweep of the Pro class with Americans filling the top three spots; Benny Carlson took overall honours ahead of Anderson and Mickey Dymond. Said Anderson after his first ride aboard the machine: “Second isn’t first, but it’s close and I’m pretty happy with the Pro class results. The dirt section was very slippery but I rode well and the Suzuki handled brilliantly. “After the test day at Oran Park on Wednesday we made some changes to the bike to suit me better and it feels fantastic; it’s got plenty of power with so much drive. I’m amazed that it’s basically a standard RM-Z450 engine. It’s an awesome bike and I’m really impressed at the level of professionalism; the Suzuki team are a top-class outfit and I hope to come back again next year,” he added. Anderson’s Suzuki team-mate, Australian Superbike rider Glenn Allerton, had a less successful run in the event; while challenging for the lead in the first Pro class race, a small error dropped him from second place to 14th. One of the hot favourites to win the event, Allerton was lucky to walk away from a massive crash with only an injured wrist in the following All Powers class race and was subsequently out of the competition for the remainder of the night. “It’s obviously a disappointing result. I owned this race last year and I know I could have done the same again with Suzuki, but I was pushing too hard and came undone,” said Allerton. “I’m sure I’ll make the TV coverage, but for all the wrong reasons.” The third member of the Team Motul Suzuki squad, Simon Goodchild, put in strong performances that yielded second overall in the Expert class with two second and one third place finish from the evening’s three races. Goodchild also wrapped up the Mr Supermoto State of Origin series, winning the Expert class. Said Team Motul Suzuki Team Manager Jay Foreman: “Cassidy was a pleasure to have in the team; he brought a lot of international experience and talent. To just step into the team and grab second overall in the Pro class was a great result. “Simon put the RM-Z450 to good use in the Expert class and did really well. Glenn had a lot of speed out there today but his wrist was too sore to continue after his second race but we’re all just glad that he’s ok.” 2005 SsangYong International Supermoto Overall Results: Pro Class: 1 Benny Carlson (USA) 70, 2 Cassidy Anderson (USA) 64, 3 Micky Dymond (USA) 49, 4 Ben Grabham (NSW) 47, 5 Rodney Taplin (NSW) 47, 6 Troy Herfoss (NSW) 45, 7 Stuart Bennett (NSW) 40, 8 Shannon Johnson (VIC) 39, 9 Daniel McCoy (NSW) 38, 10 Glenn MacDonald (VIC) 28. Expert Class: 1 Christian Horwood (NSW) 72, 2 Simon Goodchild (NSW) 64, 3 Brad Gow (NSW) 54, 4 Ben Schodel (QLD) 49, 5 Tony Vickers (NSW) 46, 6 Damien Crane (NSW) 39, 7 Joe Harvey (QLD) 35, 8 Brock Wilson (VIC) 35, 9 Brendon Stephenson (NZ) 32, 10 Sam Sproule (NSW) 29.