Dustin Nelson wins first race aboard YFZ450R

Yamaha Factory ATV Rider Dustin Nelson capped a championship season last Sunday, Nov. 30, at the Yamaha/ITP QuadCross finale at Glen Helen in San Bernardino County, Calif.

Nelson, who had secured his pro series championship in the weeks leading up to the finale, was looking to prove that Yamaha’s new YFZ450R could live up to its racing expectations.

“I’ve been looking forward to this race for months as it was my chance to debut the much anticipated, all-new, YFZ450R,” Nelson, who was very involved in the development of the vehicle, wrote in his weekly race report. “The new YFZ450R showed its capabilities right from the start, pulling me a great holeshot.”

This was the first race for the new YFZ450R – an all-new, high-performance machine and the next evolution of Yamaha’s dominance in ATV racing. Nelson wasted no time in proving its capabilities. In its racing debut, Nelson rode the YFZ450R to a holeshot lead that he never let go. Nelson gapped the field and maintained his lead throughout the entire eight-lap moto, finishing well ahead of the 16 other pro riders.

“Nelson and the all-new YFZ450R represent the future of Yamaha ATV racing, and it was very exciting to celebrate his latest championship and see the new machine in action,” says Steve Nessl, Yamaha ATV/SxS marketing manager. “The YFZ450R is the next step in ATV racing, and we look forward to a great year in 2009 both on MX tracks and on trails across the country.”

Yamaha brought out factory support to Glen Helen for the QuadCross Finale to help celebrate with Nelson. Yamaha representatives gave away Dustin Nelson championship T-shirts, provided lunch for hundreds of race fans, led demo rides on YFZ450R ATVs and announced Joey Stella, of Tucson, Ariz., as the season-ending YFZ450 drawing winner.