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January 21:Kiwi international Daryl Hurley wrapped up his first national supercross title at the national series’ final round in Tokoroa on Saturday night.
So dominant was the 24-year-old from Hawera that he had the title in the bag with one race in hand but went out and won it anyway.
The Suzuki star’s winning streak followed on from his clean sweep at round two, near Hamilton the previous weekend, Hurley scoring another hat-trick of wins at Saturday’s Tokoroa finale.
Second best on the night was New Plymouth’s Damien King (Honda) but, with only two rounds to his credit, he was edged out for series runner-up honours by Masterton’s Jonathan Burkhart (Suzuki).
\"It’s actually the first time I’ve been home (in New Zealand) to do the supercross nationals since about 1994. I entered the series again in 1998 but crashed my brains out at the opening round that year.\"
He nearly missed this season too, suffering a broken thumb at a race meeting in December but he collected enough points with his \"conservative comeback\" at the national series’ opener in Nelson to establish a solid points foundation.
\"It’s nice to get it all right this season. I’m looking forward to the start of the Australian nationals, the Brisbane supercross, this coming weekend.\"
The New Zealand supercross championships were one of Hurley’s first rides on the new Suzuki since he signed the contract in November to race them in Australia this season and he was quick to credit the bike for his results.
\"It’s like my old days at Suzuki ... holeshot Hurley,\" he joked. \"Good starts certainly make it easier to get good finishes.\"
Also riding a Suzuki and also riding injured was 125cc class winner Niki Urwin.
The 21-year-old Tauranga student sprained his right hand index finger in a crash during practice at Tokoroa but fought through the pain barrier to finish runner-up on the night and take the title.
The 125cc class winner at the final round was Tauranga’s Peter Broxholme (Honda) and he wound up second to Urwin in the overall standings.
Leading overall standings after the final round of the New Zealand Supercross Championships at Tokoroa on Saturday:
250cc class: Daryl Hurley (Hawera, Suzuki) 169 points; Jonathan Burkhart (Masterton, Suzuki) 124; Stacey Oldeman (Te Puke, Honda) 109; Andrew Hardisty (Tokoroa, Yamaha) 104; Damien King (New Plymouth, Honda) 86.
125cc class: Niki Urwin (Tauranga, Suzuki) 158; Peter Broxholme (Tauranga, Honda) 151; Cameron Laird (Stratford, Yamaha) 115; Cody Cooper (Opotiki, Honda) 113; Scott Columb (Queenstown, Suzuki) 91.
Junior 125cc (15-16 years): Matt Kadel (Brisbane, Australia, Yamaha) 163; Mason Phillips (Te Puke, Yamaha) 154; Kane Wright (Auckland, Suzuki) 123.
The 12-14 years 125cc class and 13-16 years 85cc class are both under appeal.
The 11-12 years 85cc class was decided at round one because there were insufficient entries at rounds two and three to constitute a championship. Kurtis Brandy (Nelson) was the winner and Nathan Loveridge (Morrinsville) was runner-up.
