Team Shift Motul Suzuki's champion, Daryl Hurley finished in second place for round five of the Motocross Nationals Championship at Barrabool Raceway (VIC) to maintain his stranglehold on the series.

The reigning Australian Motocross Champion maintains a 10-point advantage over second placed Craig Anderson.

Heavy roost at the Geelong circuit damaged the lens of the Suzuki star's goggles in the early stages of the first 30-minute moto, but that didn't halt Hurley's charge after second placed Daniel Reardon.

Steadily reeling in the leading pair, Hurley successfully negotiated lapped traffic to his advantage and passed Reardon to claim second place around the mid-point of the race.

Setting a 1:56.1min lap, Hurley's RM-Z450 was the fastest machine on the track in race one, but delays coming through the field denied the New Zealander the opportunity to catch Anderson.

Making a strong start in race two, Hurley was in third place and quickly chased down Shayne King to wrest second place from his compatriot as heavy rain began to fall.

A master of wet, slippery track conditions, Hurley set about chasing down Anderson for the race and round win.

Again posting the fastest lap time (a stunning 1:55.0min), Hurley was almost on the back of his arch-rival before lapped traffic intervened to Hurley's disadvantage.

Baulked by a back-marker in the closing minutes, Hurley dropped almost a second off Anderson and lost his opportunity to challenge for the victory.

At the mid-point of the series, Hurley and his Suzuki retain the prestigious leader's red plate for the fifth consecutive round.

Heading to Team Shift Motul Suzuki's home track and the Kiwi's adopted home event, the next round of the 2006 Motocross Nationals Championship will be held at Barleigh Ranch in Newcastle (NSW) on Sunday 28 May.

DARYL HURLEY -
"The day was pretty good for us - I always race to win, but second place definitely minimises the damage to our championship.

"I didn't get a great start in the first race and Ando was really on his game today; I just couldn't peg him back.

"I would have liked it to rain more in race two; it was starting to remind me of racing at home in New Zealand, but I don't know how much difference that would have made to the outcome.

"We had greater speed today - the RM-Z450 was fantastic, but it just didn't go our way.

"We'll go to Newcastle next week and try to take two race wins and dominate again to really ramp up our championship defence.

"I won both races at Newcastle last year - it's my adopted home track in Australia and I really like racing there, so bring on next weekend."

JAY FOREMAN - TEAM MANAGER
"Daryl put in some impressive performances - he got the most out the RM-Z450 and was the quickest guy in both races.

"He's in good very form at the moment and should be able to keep Suzuki at the top again in Newcastle - hopefully with the round win."

2006 AUSTRALIAN MOTOCROSS NATIONALS CHAMPIONSHIP

Pro Open Overall Results - Round 5
1 Craig Anderson 50, 2 Daryl Hurley (Suzuki RM-Z450) 44, 3 Daniel Reardon 40, 4 Darryll King 34, 5 Cody Cooper 31, 6 Shayne King 30, 7 Cheyne Boyd 27, 8 Daniel McCoy 25, 9 Craig Carmichael 23, 10 Timmy Weigand 20

Pro Open Championship points - after Round 5
1 Daryl Hurley (Suzuki RM-Z450) 221, 2 Craig Anderson 211, 3 Daniel Reardon 172, 4 Cody Cooper 160, 5 Darryll King 158, 6 Shayne King 152, 7 Cheyne Boyd 130, 8 Craig Carmichael 114, 9 Timmy Weigand 104, 10 Peter Boyle 101