Image: Jeremy Hammer.

Words: Jeremy Hammer

Todd Waters captured his second Manjimup 15,000 victory today at the picturesque Cosy Creek circuit in Western Australia’s southwest.

The 2016 edition of the event saw perfect racing conditions as the track developed into it’s most challenging state that it’s renowned for.

Defending Manjimup 15,000 victor Kirk Gibbs stole the show early on, racing to victory in both moto one and two, plus taking home the prized elimination shootout held in the middle of the day.

Gibbs’ plans to make it three wins in-a-row derailed in the third moto with Waters chipping away lap after lap, eventually grabbing a hold of the lead to go on and win his first race of the day.

The final moto of the event would be the ultimate decider, with both Waters and Gibbs leaving nothing on the table. KTM-mounted Gibbs snatched the early lead, however an uncharacteristic mistake forced him to relinquish the lead.

This wasn’t the last of his woes, as the Australian champion suffered a suspected flat rear tyre, salvaging third to end the day in second overall.

“Today was difficult, Gibbsy had me all morning and the track was super slick, he is a hard guy to catch on a smooth and flat track,” Waters said.

“Towards the end of the day, it got really rough through the sand and I was able to make up time through there. I made the pass there in the third moto and I just capitalised on his mistake in the final.”

Western Australian favourite Kyle Webster concluded the podium in third, tying on points with Jesse Dobson. Webster was awarded the higher position on countback after an impressive second place finish in race four.

Riding a KTM 350 SX-F, Caleb Ward narrowly missed out on the podium, finishing just one point shy of Dobson and Webster. Like Gibbs, he would also make a mistake in the final moto, handing over a bunch of positions.

Ward fought back to sixth, just behind teammate Dobson, after putting together two solid results earlier in the day with a pair of thirds.

KTM 250 SX-mounted Jayden Rykers displayed an incredible performance to finish just within the top 10 in nearly every moto. His efforts were rewarded with a clean-sweep of the Lites riders, who were scored separately overall.