It was a twist to the classic Eastwood cowboy movie “The Man With No Name”, only this time it was “the bike with no number”.

If spectators at Sunday’s inaugural Taikorea Sand Prix motocross event in the Manawatu were asking “who is that man?”, they were not in the dark for long as Daryl Hurley soon made his presence felt.

The event was a tribute to the Manawatu Orion Motorcycle Club patron Mort Andrews, who died last year, aged 89, and his sons Phil and Mike were there to see their father’s land near Himatangi continue as a favoured racing venue.

For Hawera’s Hurley it was important that he show his respect to Mort and what better way than by racing at Taikorea.

The Suzuki star from Hawera arrived at the sandy motocross circuit with a plain-wrap version of the new 2010-model Suzuki RM-Z450LO.

Hurley said he brought the as-yet un-adorned bike to the Manawatu at the weekend to kick start his training for the upcoming motocross nationals and, true to his status as current national champion, did not disappoint.

The 33-year-old easily won both MX1 races and then also led from start to finish to win the all-in feature race at the end of the day.

“I’ve only had this bike a week and I’m still getting it set up but I really wanted to race here today,” said Hurley afterwards.

“I have not raced at Taikorea since about 1992. I used to come here often to train and I’d ring up Mort to get the key and most times he’d come out himself, unlock the gate and watch me train. He was such a neat bloke and I was disappointed I could not get to his funeral.

“It’s always a good workout at this track. Sand is very demanding but the new bike was brilliant.”

Hurley led a Suzuki 1-2-3 in the MX1 class on Sunday with Taupo’s Brad Groombridge taking the runner-up spot and Marton’s Cam Smith finishing third overall.

Wellington’s Tommy Maddams (Honda CRF250) survived a close battle with Palmerston North’s Rhys Carter (Kawasaki KX250F), Nelson’s Jamie Collins (Suzuki RM-Z250) and Cambridge’s Kieran Leigh (Yamaha YZF250) to win the MX2 class and Wanganui’s Tom Managh took his Suzuki RM125 to back-to-back wins in the junior 125cc class, ahead of Manawatu riders Michael Phillips and Hamish Clausen, both on KTMs.

“It was a good day for me. I was not troubled at all,” said Managh, the 16-year-old a Wanganui High School fifth-former.

“I was also using this event as a build-up for the nationals.”

Foxton’s James Anderson (KTM) was unbeaten in the junior 85cc class, winning the day ahead of Pahiatua’s Scott Sowry, Levin’s Billy Frank and Pahiatua’s Ethan Brett.

Words and photos by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com

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