HURLEY CLOSES IN ON SERIES LEAD
 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: 1 Daniel Reardon 260, 2 Daryl
Hurley 231 (Suzuki RM-Z450), 3 Jay Marmont 204, 4 Cody Cooper
203, 5 Troy Carroll 161, 6 Matt Moss 120, 7 Nathan Crawford
115, 8 Kade Mosig 113, 9 Nathan Brochtrup 109, 10 Shane Metcalfe
98
PRO LITES: 1 Jake Moss 276, 2 Mitch Hoad
200, 3 Danny Anderson 187, 4 Kyle Tobin 180, 5 Cody Mackie
168, 6 Adam Monea 142, 7 Michael Phillips 142, 8 Lewis Stewart
135, 9 Louis Calvin 112, 10 Cameron Taylor 109.
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