Raceline Pirelli KTM press release:

Raceline Pirelli KTM have left Round 1 of the Motul MX Nationals at Horsham encouraged, after both team riders Wade Kirkland and Dylan Wills put on promising performances in the team’s first outing for 2016.

With a change in bike colour, as well as fresh faces for the 2016 season, the team had the opportunity to put their hard work during the offseason to the test over the weekend, with both riders also putting vital championship points on the board.

For Motul MX2 rider Wills, round one of the MX Nationals was met with some challenges – Wills, who had suffered a head injury whilst training for round one, raced to ninth in moto one, and 15th in moto two, handing himself and the team 13th overall at the conclusion of round.

For Pirelli MXD pilot Kirkland, round one dished out a surprise break through performance. Despite getting caught up with another rider in moto one, the 16-year-old raced from dead last to sixth position, before leading for a good portion on moto two, eventually crossing the line in second.

At the conclusion of the round Kirkland was a mere one point shy of third place on the Pirelli MXD podium, and proved that the youngster has the speed to run with the top guys in 2016.

Wade Kirkland – Pirelli MXD class – (6th, 2nd) 4th Overall

“Being my first race with the Raceline Pirelli KTM team, I’m really happy with what we were able to do at round one,” he said.

“I had a bit of bad luck in the first race getting caught up with Mitch Evans, but we were able to come back from that and still finish with a good result.

“I would have loved to finish on the podium, but all in all we’re very happy and the bikes and the team worked well together, so we’re excited for round two.”

Dylan Wills – Motul MX2 class – (9th, 15th) 13th Overall

“It was a disappointing weekend for me that’s for sure, after such a good pre season it was hard to cop that on the chin,” he said.

“I’m not one to make excuses but I honestly was still feeling the affects of my big crash at Canberra. The crash was big, and the fact that I only had five days to try and recover and try and get some training in just made it hard.

“I went into the round still really sore but trying to forget about it and ride through it. At the end of the day I made points and I’m safe, I’ll do everything necessary to get myself to 100% for Appin and I’ll come out swinging.”

Chris Woods – Raceline Pirelli KTM Team Manager

“We’re all just happy to get round one out of the way (laughs). It’s always a round where you’re hoping that you’ve done enough work, that you’ve ticked all the boxes, and that you’re going to get a good result,” he said.

“Dylan was still suffering the effects of his crash prior to round one, which we understand, and it’s a good thing that he was still able to get out there and put points on the board.

“Wade really blew us all away on the weekend which was pretty cool. At Raceline we have always loved finding riders who have that untapped talent, and it’s pretty exciting that at round one he was able to put on such a great performance.

“We had the opportunity to try out all of our new products at Horsham as well as the bikes, and we were absolutely thrilled with how everything worked. The bikes and our setup looked awesome on the track and we’re all just hanging to get to Appin.”

Raceline Pirelli KTM, will now begin preparations for round two of the 2016 Motul MX Nationals at Appin, New South Wales being held on Sunday April 17.

To follow Raceline Pirelli KTM’s progress this year, like ‘Raceline’ on facebook or follow @raceline_motosport on Instagram.

For further information on the MX Nationals, including details on where to watch all of the racing live, head to www.mxnationals.com.au