Team Shift Motul Suzuki rider, Daryl Hurley racked up a second place finish in round two of the Australian Motocross Nationals Championship, and almost doubled his series points lead at Gilman (SA), this weekend.

Holding 51 championship points, Hurley headed into the round with a 13-point advantage. Scoring fifth and first in the day's two motos gave the New Zealander second overall and extended his margin to a massive 25 points over second place.

Repeating his scintillating form from the opening round, Hurley produced yet another stand-out performance aboard his RM-Z450 and was untouchable in the second moto, setting the fastest lap and finishing five seconds ahead of his closest rival.

Hurley's Suzuki team-mate, Luke Burkhart delivered a courageous performance as he battled through the two 30-minute motos nursing ligament damage in his left wrist to finish in sixth place overall and score valuable points to keep his championship aspirations alive.

The reigning Australian Motocross Champion and his tenacious Team Shift Motul Suzuki team-mate will take on round three of the 2006 Motocross Nationals Series in Wonthaggi (VIC) on Sunday 30 April.

Daryl Hurley - Team Shift Motul Suzuki rider
"The team has worked really hard and the RM-Z450 is working brilliantly - that's given us a strong start and a good foun dation for the season.

"In the first moto, I made a bad start and was back in tenth at the first corner - it was a single-line track and it was really hard to get a rhythm and work my way through the pack.

"I managed to get up into fourth, but an incident with lapped traffic on the last lap allowed Cheyne Boyd to slip past.

"I made a much better start in race two and only needed a couple of corners to get into the lead, and once I was out front I was able to hold a pretty good gap to the end of the race.

"I like the next track at Wonthaggi, so we should be able to get another good result there, too.

Luke Burkhart - Team Shift Motul Suzuki rider
"Under the circumstances, my result was a pretty good. I finished in sixth place overall, but was on equal points with Shayne King and I only missed fourth place by one point.

"I have made good progress with my wrist injury , but it was still hard to hang to the bike, so it's really good to pick up these points.

"I definitely have the speed to run with the front guys, but I've been riding conservatively so I don't do further damage to my wrist.

"The Suzuki's overall race package is awesome - I just need to get my body patched up and then aim for the podium at Wonthaggi."

Jay Foreman - Team Shift Motul Suzuki Team Manager
"This is a great start to the season for Team Shift Motul Suzuki. Daryl's 25-point lead gives us a whole moto over Craig Anderson in second place, which is a great buffer to have built up this early in the season."