Australian KTM Motocross Racing Team riders Kirk Gibbs and Luke Styke are determined to make a strong showing at the tomorrow’s second round of the New Zealand motocross championships at Timaru, in New Zealand’s South Island.

With Tropical Cyclone Marcia hard on his heels, Queensland-based Gibbs flew down to Sydney on Thursday night to ensure he’d be able to compete, and left with the team yesterday.

Gibbs lies second in the championship, and though strictly speaking he’s there as part of the team’s traditional New Zealand pilgrimage to build for the Aussie titles, the KTM 450 SX-F rider admits that winning the championship would also be useful conditioning.

Young team-mate Luke Styke was the big improver last time out, and while an electrical problem left him down in the standings, the MX1 rookie is rapidly becoming accustomed to the specific demands of the class.

The New Zealand Motocross Championship is a four-round series which concludes at Harrisville on March 15, two weeks before the Australian MX Nationals opener at Horsham, Victoria.

“From all accounts it’s very dry at Timaru, so preparing the track is going to be a challenge for the club, but we race in all different conditions,” said KTM team manager Rob Twyerould.

“In the past the track has been very good, it has lots of jumps, but it flows quite nicely. It’s in a nice part of New Zealand and the boys have had a good solid couple of weeks leading up to it, so it should be an enjoyable round.”

Gibbs worked hard to make sure he’d be on the start line on Sunday.

“I flew down to Sydney last night because I was a little bit worried that I wasn’t going to get out this morning. Last time we raced at Timaru it was a bit dusty and it sounds like it might be on that side of things again, but hopefully they can get the water into it. For me it has always been the first round of the series so I’ve normally got the tongue dragging in the chain a little bit, so it will be good to arrive there in stronger shape. I feel like I’m in a good position, and I’ve been working hard on my starts, so we’ll see how we go.”

Styke is looking forward to the racing again in New Zealand too.

“The more time I spend on the bike the better I’m feeling. My last round was up-and-down results-wise but I feel like I got something good out of it with the speed I showed at the end.

“There’s been two solid weeks of training since then and now I’m keen to get back over there and have another go. I haven’t seen Timaru before but I’ve heard it’s pretty jumpy so it should be a bit of fun.

“Every time I go over there I’m always riding new tracks, so it’s something to look forward to each trip.”

© Photo by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com

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