KTM Australia press release:

KTM Motocross Racing Team rider Kirk Gibbs added two second places to his championship tally in a productive visit to the picturesque Queensland venue of Conondale for the third round of the 2017 MX Nationals series.

Gibbs powered his KTM 450 SX-F to second on the day behind Dean Ferris and ahead of Todd Waters to strengthen his second place in the championship, however less-than-perfect starts regrettably denied him the chance to race head-to-head with Ferris on a track Gibbs rides very well.

KTM team mate Luke Styke finished the round sixth overall after 7-5 finishes.

Kiwi Hamish Harwood continued his ironman campaign across MX1/MX2 categories, riding his Davey Motorsports KTM 300 EXC to 16th in the premier class.

Jay Marmont – KTM Motocross Racing Team Manager: “I thought we did well again; Kirk was a bit unfortunate with the big booter in the centre on his SuperPole lap, and he was pretty lucky to come out safely with third place in SuperPole. From there he got off in sixth in moto one and worked his way into second and maybe didn’t ride his best but he salvaged good points. He got a horrible start in the second and worked his way up to second again, but unfortunately Ferris had too much for us this weekend.

Luke didn’t do too good in the first race but in the second he regrouped and found a bit better rhythm half way through and worked his way into fifth, which is a good sign. Luke’s just got to believe in himself and he can definitely podium, and Kirk needs to start better to put the pressure on Ferris – and a race win won’t be far away for us.”

MX1
Kirk Gibbs – KTM450SX-F: “Bittersweet for me here. I started the day qualifying fastest, but then in SuperPole I jumped the big extension and got a kick that shot me to the right and I landed so hard I blew out eight spokes in my front wheel and did something to my front brake caliper. I had no front brake and was just trying to nurse that front wheel home but still got third fastest time!

I came from fifth to second in that first moto, but fought the bike a lot, then regrouped, made some changes and started up the inside for the second moto. Me and Dean came together at the start and I got the raw end of it, got pushed really wide and came out 10th or 12th. So a bit of damage control after that to get back to second. I feel like my pace is really good at the moment; I just need to get out front with Dean so I can battle for those wins.”

Luke Styke – KTM450SX-F: “Conondale was good, and the KTM 450 SX-F was great, I just made it hard for myself because I wasn’t riding like my normal self. I struggled a bit in the first one; it took three or four laps to find my feet, but then I started coming strong ten minutes into the moto. It’s just a shame it probably took me 60-70 minutes of riding over the weekend to find my best form. We need to get that feeling right from practice. We’ll keep chipping away and stay positive – and it’ll eventually come around. We’re chipping away, but they’re just little chips – I want a big chunk!”

MX2
Davey Motorsport rider and 2014 MXD Champion Egan Mastin salvaged fourth on a track which is something of a bogey venue for him, finishing fourth at Conondale.The Vacy, NSW rider came 7th in moto one, but bounced back to put his KTM 250 SX on the podium in the second and finish the day behind Mitch Evans, Jackson Richardson and Wilson Todd.

Raceline KTM’s Jayden Rykers and Davey Motorsport’s Hamish Harwood were 6th and 8th respectively.

Egan Mastin – KTM 250SX: “An unhappy day. My KTM 250 SX was working great but I just struggled with the track. I haven’t ever had a really good finish here. I got a bad start in the first moto and it was hard to pass and I got stuck behind a fair few people. To come away with third in the second moto was much better. I wasn’t very happy with my day, but it was still good to finish off with fourth overall. That’s pretty good for a bad day I guess.”

Jayden Rykers – KTM 250SX-F: “Life’s been a bit up and down with the transition to moving interstate and moving houses, so I’ve been feeling a bit rusty the last two rounds, and Conondale wasn’t too great for me. But now this is all out the way, and I’ll be able to put some solid hours in. I think I enjoyed the track a lot more here in the second when I put my head down and attacked it. It was quite slick, but it’s still a good track and a nice place to visit too, with the views and all that coming down into the place.”

MXD
Raceline KTM’s Morgan Fogarty ensured he’d always remember his first visit to Conondale, the 16-year-old taking the overall win to move himself to third place in the championship.

On the back of an opening moto second place, Fogarty fought out an enthralling arm-wrestle with championship leader Cody Dyce before easing away to take the win on his KTM 250 SX-F.

Impressive 17-year-old Callum Norton impacted another rider and broke the tip off his rear brake lever in his first moto, which caused him to fade to 13th, however he rebounded to a brilliant third in the second moto for fifth overall.

Morgan Fogarty – KTM250SX-F: “My first time going there and it was a fun track. I rode pretty good. We made a good change to the suspension after the first moto and I loved it straight away. I had two really good starts today and holeshot the second race. Cody Dyce passed me but I got him back, and we battled on until the middle of the race and I eventually got a bit of a gap. It was a great fun race – we respect each other, so it was good clean racing. I loved every bit of it and had a ball.”