Hawera’s Daryl Hurley won the Taranaki Sportsman of the Year title at an awards dinner in New Plymouth at the weekend.

The talented motocross rider dominated competition around the country again this past year, again earning him provincial recognition at the annual awards function.

The 33-year-old won four New Zealand titles in the past 12 months – he was 2008 national motocross champion in the MX2 class, the 2009 Woodville GP champion (MX1), Woodville Grand Prix champion-of-champions and 2009 national supercross champion in the MX1 class.

It’s been just four years since he was last up on the provincial stage when he was called up to receive the trophy as overall Taranaki Sportsperson of the Year in 2005.

His lengthy motocross career sparkles with top honours.

On no less than three occasions Hurley has been chosen to join New Zealand’s three-man Motocross of Nations world teams championship team and he was a crucial part of the team when New Zealand finished a record-high third overall, at Namur in Belgium in 2001.

As a 29-year-old, in 2005, he won the national championships in four classes, on both sides of the Tasman (NZ 250cc supercross champion, NZ 125cc motocross champion, NZ Woodville GP champion and the Australian 500cc motocross champion).

Pushing ahead with his golden run, Hurley continued to delight and he was running away with both the Australian Supercross Championships and the New Zealand 500cc Motocross Championships that same season when an unfortunate crash cut short those two campaigns.

He spent most of 2006 sidelined with that injury but returned with a vengeance in 2007, winning the New Zealand 500cc class motocross crown as well as the Woodville GP title, in the MX2 class.

He also twice raced in Australia earlier this year, as a guest rider for the Suzuki factory team over there, and even finished on the podium during this “dabble” across the Tasman.

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