On a sand track which was labeled as one of the toughest of its kind in the world, Shift Motul Suzuki’s Daryl Hurley has destroyed his rivals in the opening round of the 2006 Nokia MX Nationals at Wanneroo (WA) on April 2.

The defending Pro Open (250cc 2T vs 450cc 4T) champion steamrolled through both 30-minute (plus a lap) motos on his factory RM-Z450, and had 26 seconds to spare over the riders who finished second in both outings: Cody Cooper (No Fear Honda CRF450R) and American Tim Weigand (Motorex KTM 450SX).

Combined with his 1pt for qualifying on pole position, Hurley has started the 10-round championship with a maximum 51pts, ahead of Daniel McCoy (Motorex KTM 450SX, 38pts), Shayne King (Kawasaki Australia KX450F, 30pts) and Cooper (28pts).

In a day where local rider Michael Addison (KTM 250SXF) upstaged the ensemble cast with victory in Pro Lite (125cc 2T vs 250cc 4T), Hurley signalled that he’s already on course to become the first rider to win successive Pro Open titles since Darryll King in 2003-2004.

“It feels good to have won on such a demanding track,” said Hurley, who also won last weekend’s Aussie supercross round in the west. “I got two good starts, and I knew I had the fitness behind me… in the lead up to the event.

“There is something about Western Australia – I always seem to go good here.

“The next round at Gilman should be good for the Suzuki – the track surface has a bit of everything. We won there last year, so hopefully we can do it again.”

Hurley has now won 11 of the past 15 Pro Open races, extending back to round two of last year’s title.

With more than 4000 spectators looking on, Pro Open was initially shaping up as another arm wrestle between Hurley and his long-time adversary, Craig Anderson (No Fear Honda CRF450R). The duo starred in qualifying, with Hurley just scoring the bonus 1pt by 0.142sec, with Shayne King and Daniel Reardon (Team Kawasaki KX450F) in third and fourth. King was the rider who suggested that Wanneroo was one of the toughest on the planet – and the 1996 world 500cc motocross champion has seen a few circuits in his time.

The first Pro Open race of the year got off to a wobbly start after an altercation between Weigand and Barry Morris (Kawasaki KX250). While the latter was carted off to hospital for observation – he was sore but otherwise unharmed – Weigand finished a modest 15th in the re-start, while Hurley left them all in his wake.

With the Suzuki pilot impossible to contain, Aussie Pro Open first-timer Cooper made it a New Zealand quinella, with another debutante, McCoy, a strong third.

Anderson and CDR Nokia Yamaha teammates Cheyne Boyd (YZ450F) and Darryll King then followed in quick succession, with Reardon and Victorian Lee Ellis (Motorex KTM 450SX) among those to DNF.

Reardon also crashed en route to sixth in race two, while Darryll King was an underwhelming ninth in the same outing – alien territory for a rider whose unnerring consistency had seen him finish on the Pro Open podium in 31 of the past 32 races.

While DK laboured in what was probably his valediction to West Aussie spectators, 21-year-old McCoy had his KTM on full charge, as he finished fourth in race two for second overall on the day.

“I am really happy, and went a lot better than I expected,” said an ebullient McCoy. “It was good to come here early and practice on sand, as my training at home… would have been on hard pack.”

Alongside the rampant Hurley, Ellis incited much of the attention in race two with a spectacular charge through the field, which culminated in second place ahead of Weigand.

Weigand’s fastest lap in race two was three seconds slower than Hurley’s opening benchmark – a sign of the toll that the energy-sapping Wanneroo circuit was taking on the 34 Pro Open riders.

Shayne King was fifth, while Anderson laboured home in 12th - Australia’s best title hope now banking on a resurgence at round two in Gillman (SA) this Sunday.

Luke Burkhart (Shift Motul Suzuki RM-Z450) failed to last the distance in race two with a wrist injury, and will now seek immediate attention back home in New Zeeland before the Gillman festivities.

In Pro Lite, Jake Moss (Serco Yamaha YZ250F) and Addison celebrated maiden Aussie title victories; Dean Porter (Honda CRF250R) was the only rider to finish on the podium both times; teenager Louis Calvin (250SX) confirmed that he’s a star of the future; and Ryan Marmont (Motorex KTM 250SXF) continued his tough-as-nails comeback from shoulder surgery.

But as far as discarding the ‘unheralded’ tag, Addison was incomparable, and now heads to Gillman on 42pts, in front of Marmont (40pts), Porter (40pts), Calvin (37pts) and No Fear Honda’s Troy Dorron (CRF250R, 30pts).

“I have been doing a lot of sand training, and Western Australian people are known for their ability to ride in the sand,” said the 20-year-old Addison. “I relied on those skills today to get me across the line….”

“I’m just happy to be up here (on the podium) and hope to carry the momentum through to the next couple of rounds.”

Addison, who finished 19th in the 2005 Pro Lite title, started from pole position in race one, alongside fellow 250SXF punter Adam Monea and former junior prodigy Toby Price (Kawasaki Connection KX250F). But when things got underway, another troika eventually usurped them all: Moss, Calvin and Porter.

With defending champion Cameron Taylor (Serco Yamaha YZ250F) only lasting seven of the 15 laps with a broken pipe, Moss held out Calvin by 3.339sec, with Porter, Marmont, Bronte Holland (Electric KTM 250SXF) and Kade Mosig (Honda SMART CRF250R) the only other riders to finishing within a minute of the winner.

Calvin finished runner-up in last year’s Rookies class behind Mosig, before signing off his junior career with two top-three placings in the national title.

With attrition again playing a major part in race two – 12 of the 38 riders went ‘missing’ – Addison was a law unto himself, blitzing the field to the tune of 16.292sec. Porter again made third place his own, from Dorron, Mosig, Calvin, Taylor and Danny Anderson (No Fear Honda CRF250R), who crashed hard in the opener.

“Crashing hard” proved to be the day’s No. 1 catch cry, with Moss also biting the sand in race two.

Meanwhile, Mitch Hoad (Team Kawasaki KX250F), who has dominated the opening two rounds of this year’s Australian Supercross Championship, was brought back to earth with moderate 23-11 results.

In the supporting WA Cup at Wanneroo, Colin Wood won on a countback from fellow Honda rider Scott Petricevich.