Shift Motul Suzuki’s Daryl Hurley’s decision to jettison his two-stroke RM250 in favour of the four-stroke RM-Z450 hit instant pay dirt in round two of the 2006 Australian Supercross Championship at Claremont Showground in Perth last Saturday night.

In the west’s first-ever taste of national supercross action, the New Zealander returned to the type of form which saw him blitz the opening two rounds of the 2005 season, finishing fourth, fifth and first across the three motos – for a night’s haul of 59pts.

That placed the reigning Australian motocross No. 1 6pts ahead of new championship leader, Californian Tim Weigand (Motorex KTM 450SX, 53pts), with Danny Ham (Axis Motorsports CRF450R, 52pts) third overall.

“I’ve never ridden a 450 in supercross before, and I was slightly out of sync while I was getting accustomed to it,” said Hurley. “As the first race went on I settled into a rhythm… and just kept getting smoother as the races went on.

“I love the RM-Z450 for supercross. It’s great for the starts, and it gave me a real mental boost to know that I’ve got four-stroke power like most of the other guys.”

After failing to score any SX Open championship points in round one, Hurley is now in equal fifth with Craig Anderson (No Fear Honda CRF450R) on 8pts, behind Weigand (14pts), Cheyne Boyd (CDR Nokia Yamaha YZ450F, 10pts), round one winner Daniel Reardon (Team Kawasaki KX450F, 10pts) and Luke Burkhart (Shift Motul Suzuki RM-Z450, 9pts).

All the main action at Claremont went ahead without defending champion Troy Carroll (CDR Nokia Yamaha YZ250), who injured his ankle in the opening practice session – and saw his title defence evaporate in one fell swoop. The Queenslander has been a supercross colossus in the last four years, and hasn’t lost a championship – SX Open or SX Lite - since 2001.

With Carroll indisposed, and Reardon (7-6-5 finishes) riddled with influenza, three-time SX Open champion Anderson threw the first punch at Claremont – and kept swinging for another one-and-a-bit races. In the opener, Anderson was the only rider to dip into the 33-second mark as he defeated Ham – who had to come through afternoon qualifying - by 2.674sec. Weigand was third in front of the KTM Australia top brass, from Hurley and Matt Moss (CDR Nokia Yamaha YZ250).

Moss, 17, then set a new lap record (33.626) in the 10-lap race two, but not before running off the track on lap one.

Out front, 28-year-old Anderson maintained his aggression to claim successive victories, easily accounting for Weigand, Burkhart, Boyd and Hurley.

Race three was again shaping up as another routine outing for Anderson, before he came up short on a triple jump, and was launched – with CRF450R in tow – into the stratosphere. The 15-lapper was then red-flagged while Anderson regained his faculties.

In the re-start, now a 10-lapper because of time constraints, it was Hurley’s turn to shine, while Ham returned to the top three after dropping the ball in race two. Boyd, Burkhart and Reardon saw out the top five.

It was Hurley’s first chequered flag of the year, joining Weigand (two), Anderson (two) and Reardon (one) on the winners’ list.

For Boyd, the reigning No. 3, it was his first visit to an SX Open podium in 2006 – his equal second in the championship built on sheer consistency more than raw strike power.

In contrast to SX Open, the three SX Lite races were far more staid affairs, with Mitchell Hoad again the king of the castle on his Team Kawasaki KX250F.

The 21-year-old, who went 1-5-1 at Claremont, has now replicated Robbie Marshall’s opening to the 2005 title, and sits on a maximum 16pts after two rounds, well in front of Bronte Holland (Electric KTM 250SXF, 12pts), Cameron Taylor (Serco Yamaha YZ250F, 11pts), and No Fear Honda teammates Troy Dorron (CRF250R, 10pts) and Danny Anderson (CRF250R, 6pts).

Holland, from Kaniva (Vic), actually led Hoad over the line in race three, but was then relegated three places for passing under a yellow flag. Holland accepted the sanction graciously, in what would have been the 18-year-old’s first Supercross Masters win.

Besides that ‘highlight’, round two will also go down as a watershed for Victorian teenager Kade Mosig (Full Throttle Sports CRF250R), with the junior prodigy clinching race two from Cody Mackie (Troy Lee Design KX250F), Holland, the returning Ryan Marmont (Motorex KTM 250SXF) and Hoad.

After an underwhelming race three, Mosig eventually finished sixth overall in Claremont – but more importantly, the 16-year-old rookie has already proven he’s got the disposition for big-time action.

Of the other top championship runners, Holland was third in race one, while long-time rivals Taylor (4-7-5), Dorron (6-6-2) and Marmont (8-4-3) were also consistent top 10 campaigners.

After two rounds, 10 riders have finished on a SX Lite podium, reflecting the even nature of competition – and the arrival of fresh blood like Mosig.

The support class winners at Claremont Showground were Tye Simmonds (85cc 12-15 years), Travis Mahony (Clubman Lite) and Kieran Tisdale (Junior Lite).