Raceline Pirelli KTM press release:

Raceline Pirelli KTM made further progress at round two of MX Nationals in Appin over the weekend, with Wade Kirkland now in a podium position in the Pirelli MXD Championship, while MX2 pilot Dylan Wills continued to make steady improvements.

With the Appin circuit forming up to be rough, technical, and rutty in true MX Nationals style, both Wills and Kirkland took to the track well, with both of their KTM machines performing in challenging conditions.

For Wills, who is still recovering from an injury sustained in the pre-season, ninth in moto one was an encouraging result. Then in moto two, Wills looked as if he was back to his old self sitting in fifth place, however a crash just past the mechanic’s area forced him to lose valuable positions, which resulted in the KTM mounted rider finishing in 14th.

Kirkland, who is competing in his first year in the Pirelli MXD class, raced from an impressive dead last position to seventh in moto one, while in moto two, Kirkland showed that the valuable track time had paid off, launching to an impressive start to then take 3rd.

With two moto results combined, Wills concluded round two of the MX Nationals in 12th overall, while Kirkland wrapped up racing at Appin in 4th.

Dylan Wills – MX2 – (9th, 14th) 12th Overall

“It was another tough weekend for me, but a step forward from round one,” he said.

“The mistakes on my behalf are what killed a good overall but we’ll keep working and take the positives from moto two and run with them.

“I’ve got great people behind me, the team are so supportive and understanding, and my family and girlfriend always have my back, so we’ll keep fighting to get back to where we were before round one.

“Physically and mentally I feel good, I’m just struggling a little to put it all together, I have faith in my ability and I know I’ll come good!”

Wade Kirkland – MXD – (7th, 3rd) 4th Overall

“I’m really happy, fourth in both rounds is pretty consistent,” he said.

“I’m happy with where I’m sitting. I got pushed wide in the first Moto and had to come back from 20th or something, but in the second race I went inside a bit more and held my line and came out with the holeshot.

“My bike is awesome, the mechanics are setting it up really well for me, so we’re happy with how the weekend played out”

Chris Woods – Raceline Pirelli KTM Team Manager

“All in all, it was a pretty positive weekend for us,” he said.

“In moto one for Wade he didn’t hold his line and got swallowed which made his job hard, but he clawed back to seventh which showed that he has plenty of ability. He came back to the truck and we talked about it, and next race it was clear that he had taken everything on board and made some changes, so we’re very happy with that.

“Dylan struggled a little bit on the weekend, but it was a big improvement from round one. We know that he’s still carrying a bit of that injury, but moto two even though he went down, was a big step in the right direction.

“With Wade now sitting in third in the MXD championship it’s really proved that consistent, solid results do pay off, so we’ll all just keep chipping away at things and look ahead to Round 3 in Broadford.”

Raceline Pirelli KTM, will now prepare for Round 3 of the 2016 MX Nationals at Broadford, Victoria, being held on Sunday May 1.

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

For further information on round three of the MX Nationals, head to www.mxnationals.com.au