KTM’s Luke Styke continues to move closer to full fitness following an 18-month break from racing while he recovered from a double Achilles tendon injury.

He elevated himself from fifth to fourth in the rankings of the New Zealand Motocross Championship at last weekend’s third round of four in the series at Himatangi.

Despite what he called the roughest conditions he’d ever raced, the 25-year-old rider from Jervis Bay finished fourth overall as the round went win to fellow Australian Dean Ferris (Yamaha), ahead of Todd Waters (Honda) and defending champion Cody Cooper (Honda).

The KTM Motocross Racing Team rider took his KTM 450 SX-F to 5-3-5 moto finishes as he builds towards full strength in time for the 2017 Australian MX Nationals season, which kick off on April 2.

“I made a few wrong choices with my line selection here,” said Styke.

“The track was tricky and I was picking the wrong lines and losing the flow. It’s not a bad result, though, considering I have been off a bike for 18 months.

“It was definitely a step forward us here, the riding is getting better and the fitness is getting better,” Styke added.

“Qualifying went really good and we weren’t too far off the pace here. I got a bit of arm pump in the first moto and lost all my flow, and I just lack that bit of race craft at those times.

“In the second one I got a really good start and rode my own race with the top guys, and third was pretty good. Then in the last race I fought with the track and the bike a little bit. I just need to keep working with the track and be more creative when it gets rough. I felt fit all day – just need to keep working on the speed.”

KTM Motocross Racing Team manager Jay Marmont added, “Luke was very positive about today. He said his fitness was much better but he knows he still needs to adapt to race conditions.

“Australian racing is a little different to New Zealand, and he said these were the roughest he’s ever ridden. It’s taking him out of his comfort zone, so him practicing that is only going to make him stronger when he’s back over here. He’s taking the opportunity for what it is, and I believe he’s getting a lot out of it.”

© Photo by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com

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