KTM Australia press release:

KTM Motocross Racing Team rider Kirk Gibbs has made a solid start to just his second ever supercross championship, finishing fourth in last night’s Australian Supercross Championship opener at Bathurst.

The event was won by defending champion Matt Moss ahead of Daniel Reardon and Gavin Faith. Gibbs, the Australian Motocross Championship number one plate holder got off to a strong start in the night’s SX1 final, firing his powerful KTM 450 SX-F into a top-three position on the opening lap. He overcame some small niggles with arm pump and goggle lens fogging in the cold conditions with the loss of one place to take 28 points away from the evening.

On the team’s second KTM 450 SX F, Australian motocross number three Luke Styke completed his first ever Supercross on 450cc machinery, finishing seventh, less than 3/10 of a second ahead of Lawson Bopping.

On the back of a spectacular first year in MX1, the Jervis Bay rider was disappointed not to meet his own high expectations in the night-time version of the sport, but is confident he can come out with a few more tricks up his sleeve when the championship continues next weekend at Jimboomba, south of Brisbane.

Kyle Blunden, KTM Motocross Racing Team Technician – “A bit of a tough weekend for us, but honestly I think the boys did very well. It’s easy to forget that this was Luke’s first supercross on a 450 and he hasn’t actually raced supercross since before he left for Europe. Kirk raced last year but this is only his second-ever championship. It was a bit strange for a supercross track to be so soft and it actually got very rutty, so it was technical and very demanding – quite good. Mistakes cost us a little bit tonight though, and it was a first-round performance for us. It’s all well and good to practice, but when you get to a race it’s a completely different ball game.”

Kirk Gibbs – “Bathurst was a reasonable start to the championship I guess. The track was pretty brutal today, and after the US trip I’ve had a little less than two weeks on the bike for Supercross. I got off to a great start, and was sitting in third on the first lap when Reardon got past me. I started getting a little bit of arm pump at about lap 10 and I had some trouble with my goggles fogging up because of the cold, but overall I’m reasonably happy. I felt like I rode decent, but I also feel like we can make some huge improvements over the next few weeks.”

Luke Styke – “it was a bit of a struggle for me all day, just me and the bike weren’t as one tonight. I didn’t have the feel that I needed and the track was pretty tricky – it was sandy and it rutted out everywhere. It was definitely good to get the first one out the way though and I kind of felt better the more laps I did around the track. It just took me a bit too long to get going, but we’ve got some things to work on now, and I can make that my worst result all year. We are going to Jimboomba next weekend and I’ve had a bit of seat time on that track, so hopefully things will be much better for me.”

In SX2 Racing: KTM Factory Support rider Caleb Ward’s first ever Supercross race was an eventful affair for the KTM 250SX-F rider who began well in fourth, but was forced to roll a double on the first lap relinquishing numerous positions. The North Queenslander recovered to ninth overall, one spot ahead of KTM Newcastle’s Dylan Wills.

Caleb Ward– “That was my first ever supercross race. I was pretty nervous at the start, it was a pretty technical track with a bit of rain and stuff and soft dirt, it was pretty slippery in a few spots but I got through it all. I think I could have been top five – on the first lap I was in fourth, and rider pushed me off and I couldn’t hit the finish jump on the first lap, and had to roll around the outside of it because I was going to get landed on, so I lost heaps of positions, and then someone made a mistake on the triple and I ended up going off the track there as well. So I lost a heap of spots and ended up back in 13th on the first lap. It’s pretty wild out there so you just try and get through it clean! I actually had a lot of fun towards the end of the main event. I found my flow and got into good rhythm. The hardest part is hitting big jumps and corners right behind other people and you’ve kind of got to trust in their ability and take a bit of a risk and hope for the best. The racing is a bit closer for sure, there was a few block passes, and you’ve kind of got to look out for loose cannons going off all over the place, but I think in another few rounds or so I will be a lot more confident and trying to go for race wins.”

In SXD racing, KTM Factory Support racer Kaleb Barham kicked off his Aussie Supercross championship campaign in spectacular fashion, with a podium finish after taking 5, 2 results from the two points-paying rounds. With no under 19 class next weekend in Jimboomba, Barham and his QB4-backed KTM 250 SX-F will step up to the SX2 ranks.

Kaleb Barham – “A podium was good, it was really good considering I hadn’t been on the bike for three weeks after Coolum where I knocked myself out. I much prefer supercross, there’s so much contact; it’s fun! There’s more intensity, the jumps make it a lot more technical. You can’t muck around with it, you’ve got to get in and get out and make sure you’re clean. I went down in the first and came from a long way last to be fifth, then in the next I got into third, but had a few bobbles and the boys got away from me.”

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