Defending champions return to form.

A challenging start - five Sprint races - to the 2010 Silva Superseries orienteering for 2009 titleholders Darren Ashmore and Lizzie Ingham has kept them from an early lead but they are pleased that good runs in the Middle and Long distance this weekend have finally put them back in contention.

38 year old Rotorua-based Ashmore finished as first New Zealander behind young Swiss star Martin Hubmann in the Long distance, and took maximum points in the Superseries to finally catch up to leader Ross Morrison.

"It's good to be back. It looks as though every race will count this year, and it will be tough to beat young Ross" he noted.

"With Ross back from Europe and Martin Hubmann here for summer, we're being kept on our toes. The standard is higher than it's ever been" said Ashmore.

At this stage Ashmore and Morrison share the lead with 50 points, although only 11 of the 19 races count towards the series.

Hubmann, multiple placegetter at two Junior Wold Champs, was only bested by Morrison in the first round of Superseries, and was impressed by his speed.

"He's fast alright. If I don't make the Swiss relay team this year, maybe I could move here and run with him and Chris Forne in the World Champs Relay" Hubmann joked.

With three wins from the five Superseries races so far, Morrison is happy to be on track for the SILVA Superseries and is pleased with the extra competition provided by Hubmann.

"I've spent some time chasing Martin around the course with a camera and have noticed a few things. He has a real steady speed and just flows though the checkpoints without slowing down." he commented.

"I'll work even harder on getting ready for the Nationals now" he warned.

Wellington's Lizzie Ingham, defending Superseries champion, faced a similar challenge from young speedsters such as Angela Simpson and Georgia Whitla in the early Sprint races, but returned to form in the Waitarere dunes detail with a win on Sunday.

Angela Simpson, pre-selected for the Junior World Champs team and with nothing to lose, was however a strong winner in the three Junior Selection Trials held with the Superseries races over the weekend.

As well as giving the older elites some concern, with her wins in the first two Superseries races in Hawkes Bay, Simpson has been racing well against visiting Junior stars Zenia Mogenson and Maja Alm and is looking forward to the Junior Worlds.

"Should be great" she said. "It looks like we may have more depth as a team this year and the Superseries is giving us awesome race preparation."

The team of up to six men and six women for the Junior Worlds will be announced soon.

Early indications from the Superseries are that the Central Scorchers team, so often relegated to third place, may now leading the teams pointscore, spearheaded by the efforts of Ingham and Morrison.