GIBBS RIGHT AT HOME | Bikesportnz

KTM Australia’s factory and factory support riders dominated at yesterday’s fourth round of the Australian Motocross Championships at Murray Bridge, winning the premier MX1 class, and extending the championship lead, winning the MX2 class and finishing second in the MX Development (under-19) grade.

For the second time in as many years, current MX1 championship leader Kirk Gibbs won his ‘home’ round, using 1-2 scores on the day to extend his championship lead to 39 points, just one round shy of the series halfway point.

KTM 450 SXF-mounted Gibbs used two emphatic holeshots backed up by some smart and consistent riding to further illustrate his place as a contender for this year’s crown.

KTM Motocross Racing team-mate and round three winner Luke Styke couldn’t find his rhythm on the day and was forced to settle for sixth overall – still enough to maintain his second position in the nationals, but far from enough to satisfy him.

The 2013 MX2 champion was crestfallen at failing to master the conditions, but will doubtless put plenty of work into the issue in time for the next round at Coolum in a fortnight’s time.

“Kirk’s championship lead is out to 39 points and Luke maintained second which is awesome. Kirk rode like a champion today so it was very good. It was a challenging track that was very rutty and bumpy and really highlighted the guys’ fitness, said Rob Twyerould, the KTM Motocross Racing Team Manager.

“We are going in the right direction and Gibbsy is getting great starts now and riding so solid. The trick is to stay fit and healthy, and stay smart and he’s just taking it a round at a time.

“Luke just struggled today and his head just wasn’t in it. He just struggled a bit with line selection and the confidence to go over the bumps fast. We’ll just hope for better at the next round.”

Gibbs was pleased with his efforts.

“The day was good, I qualified well, but I hit a marker in SuperPole and my front brake went a bit spongy,” said Gibbs.

“I got two ripper starts and just tried to ride smart and safe and kept clicking off clean laps. The boys were pressuring me, but I was good enough to come away with a win in that first moto. I made a couple of silly mistakes and Monea got by me, but I was able to keep him honest. I was happy with my speed today but those couple of little mistakes probably cost me a 1-1. I’m really happy with extending the points lead though, and making a decent gap to keep trying to open up.”

In MX2 racing, KTM Factory Support rider Caleb Ward made his return from knee injury a memorable one with a stunning, two-moto domination over Husqvarna’s Luke Arbon and Takeshi Katsuya. Last year Ward used Murray Bridge as a springboard to attack the back half of the season, and with his taste for sand tracks, it’s an ominous sign for his opponents approaching next round at Coolum.

2015 MX Nationals standings after round 4:

MX1 class:

Kirk Gibbs 274, 2. Luke Styke 235, 3. Adam Monea 227, 4. Kade Mosig 227, 5. Lawson Bopping 213, 6. Dylan Long 192, 7. Jesse Dobson 188, 8. Daniel Reardon 184, 9. Cody Cooper 177, 10. Kale Makeham 152.

MX2 class:

Luke Clout 243, 2. Takeshi Katsuya 227, 3. Jay Wilson 227, 4. Jed Beaton 202, 5. Wade Hunter 198, 6. Luke Arbon 179, 7. Geran Stapleton 157, 8. Hamish Harwood 156, 9. Riley Graham 154, 10. Nathan Crawford 153.

MX Development (Under-19) class:

Wilson Todd 197, 2. Connor Tierney 189, 3. Jesse Madden 187, 4. Wayde Carter 174, 5. Jayden Rykers 171, 6. Bailey Coxon 165, 7. Jonte Reynders 149, 8. Jordan Hill 135, 9. Lachlan Davis 135, 10. Zak Small 132.

Find BikesportNZ.com on FACEBOOK here

Comments are closed.