KTM Australia press release:

Raymond Terrace hasn’t always been a happy hunting ground for the KTM Motocross Racing Team, but as the second half of this year’s Monster Energy MX Nationals series kicked off there today, the team’s two premier class riders painted the place orange.

Championship leader Kirk Gibbs stretched his lead from 52 out to 60 points with victory on the day over Matt Moss, while Styke used a third on the day to continue KTM’s incredible 1-2 run in the championship, fortifying his position out to a 17-point buffer over third placed Adam Monea.

Gibbs finished second in the opening moto, but bounced back to win the second and ensure the day’s victory, his first ever at the venue near Newcastle.For Styke, the day was a sweet return to the podium after two relatively lean rounds by the incredible standards of his first Premier class season.

Rob Twyerould, KTM Motocross Racing Team Manager – “To extend the lead in the championship and for Luke pull out a lead on third place has been brilliant.
Gibbsy got an absolute killer start in the first moto but he was fighting the bike a little bit, had a couple of moments, but after Danny (Apro – KTM Crew Chief) made a few changes between motos, he said it ran like a dream. Stykesy rode fantastic, he got through to third and was challenged all the way to the line by Mosig, but then in the second he shot out of the start and took off. It took 5 or 10 minutes for Gibbsy’s diesel to warm up and then he closed the gap to Luke and when Luke made a small mistake, Gibbsy got round. This round hasn’t always been the best for us, but we’ve broken that monkey well and truly today with both the boys on the podium, it was fantastic.
Again it was a huge effort from everyone in the team; Gary, Kyle, Jordan, Johnny, it’s been a real busy couple of weeks getting ready.”

Kirk Gibbs – “It was a good day, like I said beforehand, Raymond Terrace hasn’t been the best for me, so to turn it around and have some good luck is a bit of a weight off my shoulders to finally get a win here. First moto I pulled a ripper start, but I just struggled a little bit and just didn’t feel 100% confident in the bike, so after that first moto I sat down with a team, Danny did some changes to the suspension and we went 100% in the right direction. It was such a blessing to ride in that second moto. I just had a lot of fun, I was third with a start, and Reardon got past me in the first couple of laps while I was gelling with the bike, and then I started ticking off laps and went into the lead.”

Luke Styke – “It was a good weekend, I feel like it was a good rebound from the last two rounds before the break. I found a bit of form towards the end of that first race and put a good charge in, I had good pace and it was a good feeling to catch Mossy and Gibbsy up front.
That last Moto I got the holeshot and that helps, you know? It’s not real nice getting 450 roost in the face, so that made my race a lot easier. But I made a little mistake over the back of the track and Gibbs snuck up the inside of me. He’s riding good at the moment, so it was good to have a battle with him and have similar pace.”

In MX2 Racing: KTM Factory Support rider Caleb Ward took his third straight MX2 round win at Raymond Terrace, leading home championship leader Jay Wilson and KTM Newcastle’s Dylan Wills.
Wills was sensational in winning the first Moto, but couldn’t repeat the dose, finishing 13th in the second to move within one point of the championship top-10. North Queenslander Ward rode to 2-1 scores, turning on a clinic in the second. He extended his race lead at will and leapfrogged from 12th to seventh in the national championship.

Caleb Ward– “It was a good day, I got a reasonable start and I knew it was a 30-minute so I didn’t panic and just made my way through. Dylan had about seven seconds on me and was riding really well – but I made a few little mistakes at the end and he managed to get the win. I actually hit neutral in one of the corners at the end and tipped over, so that was one of those random things but second was still decent. Race two I got a perfect start and pretty much checked out, and just kept pulling away every lap. Last year I copped it a little bit for riding the two-stroke and winning in the sand, so it’s good to come down here on a 4-stroke and win on hard pack.”

In MXD racing, KTM Factory Support racer Jayden Rykers rued a day where small mistakes cost him, but he still moved from fourth to third in the championship with 2-4 results and fourth on the day. Fellow KTM Factory Support rider Kaleb Barham was 13th on the day after a top-10 finish in the opening moto.

Jayden Rykers – “It was a bad day, for me. That first moto I got a good start and made my way up to third, passed second and was catching the leader by half a second lap, but I into this real muddy corner and ended up tucking the front and going down. I picked it back up and got around a few more guys and end up finishing second, then in the last one I was in fourth and I just made silly mistakes. I stalled it, and then tucked the front end again, so I gave away 14 seconds and by the time I got myself together it was just too late.

KTM Amateur Cup – The all-powers KTM Amateur Cup fittingly was the scene of a KTM 1-2, with KTM 500-mounted Mitchell Bowen taking a pair of wins, and KTM 250 SX rider Elias Dukes getting the better of a count back to finish ahead of Mitchell Moylan.

For more information on KTM Motorcycles, visit www.ktm.com.au or www.facebook.com/KTMAustralia.