Team Shift Motul Suzuki's Daryl Hurley took a small two-point step toward the lead of the 2007 Australian Motocross Championship in round six at Toowoomba Queensland at the weekend.
RM-Z450-mounted Hurley closed down the points gap when series leader Daniel Reardon suffered poor results and is now well positioned for the title fight across the remaining four rounds. However he also had a difficult weekend by his high standards and finished fifth overall to shave two points off Reardon's series advantage.
Hurley had Reardon's measure and pace right from the outset, qualifying second fastest on the wet, muddy Toowoomba circuit, with Reardon in third spot.
In moto one, Hurley was fifth fastest out of the stating gates but quickly moved into second place and was applying pressure on race leader, Suzuki rider Troy Carroll. Executing a move on Carroll in the early stages of the race, Hurley lost his front wheel into a hole on the track and went over the handlebars in a heavy crash. He remounted, after a heavy knock to the head, to finish the race in ninth.
Moto two saw the 31-year-old ride a faultless race, taking the holeshot and controlling the race from the front of the pack until he suffered a flat front tyre with around 10 minutes remaining. He tenaciously held on to the race lead until the closing laps when his commanding lead was narrowed and Matt Moss eventually took the win with the Suzuki star coming through in second place.
In the Pro Lites class, regular U19 Australian Motocross Championship entrant Lawson Bopping stepped up a class to represent Team Shift Motul Suzuki aboard the RM-Z250. But his first appearance with the factory Suzuki squad was fraught with difficulties and saw him end the weekend in 16th.
In race one, Bopping made an average start but got stronger and stronger on the RM-Z250 as the race went on before a crash dropped him back to finish seventh.
Race two saw Bopping rocket toward the front of the pack with a very strong start before he was taken down by another rider into turn two.
Damage sustained to the front brakes of the RM-Z250 during the crash resulted in two more crashes for Bopping and a subsequent transponder issue as the 17-year-old rode to the outside of the timing beacon and was then recorded in 32nd place for the race.
Team Shift Motul Suzuki now heads further north for the Australian Motocross Championship round seven in Mackay on July 1st.
Daryl Hurley:
"I'm obviously a bit disappointed that we weren't able to capitalise more on Reardon's dramas, but we still made up two points and have four rounds remaining - the championship is a long way from decided.
"The RM-Z450 was fantastic today - I was able to just ride away from the pack in race two. Hopefully next round we can take a more sizeable chunk out of Reardon's lead."
Lawson Bopping:
"The track was really wet and rutted today and I was getting faster and faster in race one until a crash dropped me back a few spots. I had several crashes in race two and a transponder drama so it was a write off for me, but racing with Team Shift Motul Suzuki was great experience.
"The RM-Z250 felt really strong all day and the Pro Lites class is much more fun and challenging to race in; the whole field is so much quicker and you need to run a much faster pace than the U19's."
Jay Foreman - Team Manager:
"With Reardon struggling today, it was a good chance for us to grab a big haul of points and close down his series lead, but while he's having an off day, we go and have an off day, too.
"Troy Carroll did a great job to finish second overall with his Suzuki RM-Z450.
"Lawson had a rough weekend but we know he's got more speed and talent than he was able to display this weekend, so fortunately he will have another opportunity to show his ability with us in the Pro Lites class at the next round in Mackay.
"Toowoomba was very muddy and messy this weekend so our race truck is heading directly to Mackay where they will get cleaned up and ready for next week's meeting."
2007 Australian Motocross Championship - Round 6:
Pro Open
- Daniel Reardon (260 pts)
- Daryl Hurley (231 pts)(Suzuki RM-Z450)
- Jay Marmont (204 pts)
- Cody Cooper (203 pts)
- Troy Carroll (161 pts)
- Matt Moss (120 pts)
- Nathan Crawford (115 pts)
- Kade Mosig (113 pts)
- Nathan Brochtrup (109 pts)
- Shane Metcalfe (98 pts)
Pro Lites
- Jake Moss (276 pts)
- Mitch Hoad (200 pts)
- Danny Anderson (187 pts)
- Kyle Tobin (180 pts)
- Cody Mackie (168 pts)
- Adam Monea (142 pts)
- Michael Phillips (142 pts)
- Lewis Stewart (135 pts)
- Louis Calvin (112 pts)
- Cameron Taylor (109 pts)
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