Gibbs was in the spotlight on the Canberra podium.

Serco Yamaha’s Kirk Gibbs has taken over the championship lead in the Pro Lites class of the 2010 Rockstar Energy MX Nationals, the South Australian winning Canberra’s second round last weekend.

After taking a podium position at the opening round, Gibbs came out swinging at Canberra and posted 2-3-3-1 moto scores in the challenging four moto format to claim the round win.

It was a career-defining day for Gibbs, marking his first national round win since 2008.

“With four, seven lap races a lot of things have to go right,” Gibbs explained. “My bike was perfect, the team worked hard between the motos and I was able to combine good starts with smart racing and end up with the overall for the round.

“It is a good reward for everyone in the team and we are picking up momentum as we get into the series. I couldn’t be happier.”

Teammate Ford Dale also showed flashes of his brilliant best and if it wasn’t for two falls in the opening moto, he would have joined his team mate on the podium. Dale’s 15-2-2-2 results netted him fourth overall and a huge confidence boost as the championship heads to Geelong in Victoria.

“The first race still disappoints me, but I was able to salvage a good result with the final three races to end up in fourth,” the Queenslander said. “Starts were the key to this track and every time I got a good jump out of the gate, I was up the front.

“But I’m leaving here in a far better position than where I left at the opening round and there is still plenty of time to get back into the championship.”

Impressed with his riders’ performance, team manager Michael Marty is upbeat and looking forward to continued success at the remaining rounds.

“Today proved that the riders are cable of running up the front and winning races,” he said. “We have worked hard to get the bikes and riders in form and this is a good reward for everyone in the team.”