KTM Australia press release:

The KTM Motocross Racing Team’s defending MX Nationals number one Kirk Gibbs showed just why his reputation as a championship-winner is growing during the toughest and most competitive Nats season in recent years.

Gibbs proved his title-winning mettle once again at this weekend’s continuation of the MX Nationals championship at Broadford, winning the overall victory ahead of returned Grand Prix racers Dean Ferris and Todd Waters, in the most atrocious conditions seen in the series in three years.

Gibbs likened the quagmire faced by MX1 competitors in the first moto to conditions seen at the same track back during his rookie year in the premier class in 2013.

While Waters and Ferris split the wins today, it was Gibbs’ pair of second placings which earned the overall victory, and moved the Queensland-based South Australian to within one point of the lead in Australia’s most important motocross championship.

So poor were the conditions after unexpectedly heavy rain this morning that race organisers and team management decided to cancel qualifying, opting instead to use the championship standings of the time for grid selection.

KTM Motocross Racing Team rider Jesse Dobson was absent from the event as he recovers from two hairline fractures in his pelvis, but it is hoped that he will be back in the saddle in time for the fourth round of this year’s MX Nationals at Murray Bridge.

Kyle Blunden, KTM Motocross Team Manager – “A bit of a roller coaster today. Broadford was really sloppy, especially after the downpour this morning. Kirk rode great today and came out swinging from the first lap. He and Todd Waters checked out from the pack on the first lap, and only a bit of arm pump at the end allowed Matt to come back up to in the closing stages. He rode an https://www.motoonline.com.au/wp-admin/media-upload.php?post_id=103628&type=image&TB_iframe=1impressive race. In the second one he got another great start, and rode with Todd for a little while, then Todd fell and put Kirk third, but he kept consistently setting fastest laps and put a pass on Moss to take second and came away with the overall win. Caleb suffered an engine failure when he was sitting fifth or sixth in his first moto, the root of which won’t be completely clear until the bike comes back to our workshop on Tuesday. In between motos, the whole team performed incredibly as a unit, removing his engine, removing the one from his spare bike and installing it in his race bike, all within an hour and ten minutes! Jess, Danny and Harry did a fantastic job and the way they worked together was really something else. Caleb had a very poor gate pick in the second but still managed an okay start and was sitting 11th. He’d found his feet and started picking some guys off, but unfortunately then had a really big crash with another rider who’d crashed in front of him. Unfortunately we lost a huge chunk of points today, and our only saving grace is that we’ve still got seven rounds to make it up.”

Kirk Gibbs (KTM 450 SX-F) – “The track was pretty tough and though it wasn’t too physical, it was pretty technical – you had to really be onto it. You also had to get good starts and put yourself in really good positions, and I felt like I did that. My second start wasn’t quite as good, but I felt like I rode pretty solid and hit my marks. My first year in 2013, the track was pretty similar, it was just having that rain overnight. It got really one line-ish, which makes it really hard to pass. I’m glad to come away from there with relatively good results and points. I’m still chasing that first race win, but obviously I’ll take an overall! I’m trying to be really consistent and battle with the top guys every weekend, because they are going to do the same, I just want to be there every moto, and I’ve been able to do that so far.”

MX1 Championship Points after round 3:
1. Dean Ferris 190, 2. Kirk Gibbs 189, 3. Todd Waters 182, 4. Matt Moss 177, 5. Brett Metcalfe 165, 6. Daniel Reardon 146, 7. Dylan Long 139, 8. Jay Wilson 133, 9. Kade Mosig 130, 10. Jacob Wright 106

In MX2 racing, KTM Motocross Racing Team rider Caleb Ward lost his lead in the MX2 championship after terrible luck at Broadford. The likeable North Queensland suffered a mystery engine failure while running top six in the first moto, then in the second, he had another rider high side directly in front of him as he had his KTM 250 SX-F in third gear with the taps wide open. Ward crashed heavily but managed to remount and limp home in 15th place, slipping from first to seventh in the championship. Raceline Pirelli KTM Motocross Racing Team development rider Dylan Wills was the highest-placed KTM rider on the day with sixth, while Jayden Rykers has moved from eighth to sixth to become the highest placed KTM rider in the championship, two points ahead of Ward.

Caleb Ward (KTM 250 SX-F) – “Obviously it was a pretty horrible day, it always can be worse I guess, but I went from having a decent points lead to being 30 points down just due to weather conditions and the track, so obviously that sucks. Basically one bad start just wrecked my entire day because everything tumbled downhill from there, there wasn’t a lot that I could do about it. In the first moto I stuffed up my jump out of the gate and I ended up a fair way back. I was making my way through, but because the track was so muddy, I ended up having a mechanical and DNFed. It was no-one’s fault. In the second I had a horrible gate pick – I got a reasonable start but was too far to the inside and got pinched off. I was making my way through fairly good and was into sixth or seventh, when Rykers high-sided right in front of me when I was like in third year pinned. I hit his bike and went straight over the handlebars and head first into the ground, which was pretty much like concrete right there. So what should have been a day with two top-five finishes, became a DNF and a 15th. A horrible day, but I’m looking forward to the next few rounds and tracks where I’ve had a bit of success in the past.”

Dylan Wills (KTM 250 SX) – “Sixth overall today was a big step forward from where we were last time. I still haven’t put it all together but definitely a positive day. I would have had 6-6 today but for a crash on the second last lap. But it is what it is, I have to take the positives away, and I came in here with a few goals, and a new attitude, looking to put a bit less pressure on myself, and I had a good go today and had a smile on my face. It was a good round, the track was pretty gnarly, but we’re getting there. It was real wet in that first moto but I was second off the start so that made it heaps easier.”

MX2 Championship Points after round 3: 1. Jed Beaton 172. 2. Nathan Crawford 169, 3. Luke Arbon 161, 4. Jake Moss 161, 5. Wilson Todd 148, 6. Jayden Rykers 144, 7. Caleb Ward 142, 8. Kyle Webster 138, 9. Kale Makeham 134, 10. Wade Hunter 130

In the MXD class, Raceline Pirelli KTM Motocross Racing Team development rider Wade Kirkland moved into second place in the Under 19’s championship with third on the day, courtesy of 3-4 finishes aboard his KTM 250 SX. Seventeen-year-old KTM 250 SX-F rider Cooper Pozniak (KTM Newcastle) was seventh overall at Broadford and now holds fourth place on a very tightly packed under 19’s scoreboard.

Wade Kirkland (KTM 250 SX-F) – “The mud made it a bit difficult for everyone so I decided to try and be real conservative and keep riding decent laps. I got a fourth in the first one, then a third in the second. I got a good start, made some decent passes on to the front, so 3-4 got me third overall for the day. I couldn’t be happier. Connor had a bit of a bad run in that second race today – he might have crashed, so that helps me out a bit with the points. Everyone’s real close on speed so it just comes down to the most consistent rider, and that’s what I’m trying to be.”