KEY POINTS:
Daryl Hurley, the Suzuki star from Hawera, won the opening round of the Australian Motocross Championships in April and looked set to dominate across the Tasman this season.
It was just as he had done when he last won the title there in 2005.
But the Aussies struck back at rounds two and three and now the New Zealand 500cc motocross champion has slipped to third in the open class points chase.
The 32-year-old knows he's in for a long, hard winter of racing.
At round two of the series in Horsham, Victoria, it was Hurley's long-time rival, Craig Anderson (Honda), who topped the podium and then, at the weekend's third round, at Conondale in Queensland, it was another Australian, Yamaha rider Jay Marmont, who won the day.
Hurley had set the fastest time in qualifying but, according to Hurley, "all hell broke loose" in the first race.
"I got hit in the first corner and that busted my bike up quite a bit," he said.
"I think I'm still okay for the championship, especially considering I managed to finish third despite having my bike so badly damaged. Bits were falling off it every lap.
"As long as I remain consistent I can still be in the hunt for the title. There are still six rounds to go."
Despite the charge by Marmont on Sunday, Anderson has managed to retain the leader's red number plate, while Hurley has slipped to third as the riders now head to the fourth round of the series at Raymond Terrace, NSW, on May 18.
Fellow Taranaki man Luke Burkhart, Hurley's Suzuki team-mate, also struck problems at Conondale.
He failed to finish the first race after a spectacular high-speed crash. However, although riding in pain, the 24-year-old salvaged a 12th placing in the next race.
Burkhart has slipped from fourth to fifth in the open class standings but he is now six points behind Honda's Daniel McCoy.
Tauranga's Peter Broxholme (Honda) finished 10th and 19th in his two open class outings, to slip one spot to 11th overall in the series standings, while Taupo's Nick Saunders (Kawasaki), making his Australian debut this season, managed 17th and 14th on Sunday.
Saunders finished the day 15th overall, sliding to 24th on the series table.
Cambridge rider Damien King (Yamaha) continues to be the best-performed of the Kiwis in the Pro Lites class.
The 32-year-old former GP rider took his Yamaha YZ250F to 15th and 10th in his two races at Conondale and he is now eighth overall in the standings after three rounds.
"I crashed a few times. It was very slippery," said King.
"The speed of the riders over here is amazing and I think 10th is about my spot.
"I can use this to learn and I will be faster when I come back to race the New Zealand championships."
Wellington's Jayden Jessup (Honda) is 13th in the Pro Lites series analysis after a mixed day at Conondale. He finished 12th in race one but scored no points in race two.
Qualifying was also staged at Conondale for the Australian under-19s championship.
Waikanae's Michael Menchi (Suzuki) was the best of the Kiwis, finishing 10th and second in two races, good enough to qualify fourth overall.
Cambridge's Kieran Leigh (Yamaha) finished sixth and eighth at Conondale, to qualify seventh fastest, while Auckland's Matt Hunt (Suzuki) was 11th and 14th to qualify 13th overall.
