KTM Australia press release:

South Australian-born KTM Factory Motocross Racing Team rider Kirk Gibbs put his KTM 450 SX-F back onto the top step of an MX Nationals podium with a race-two win as the 2017 MX Nationals continued at Murray Bridge, SA.

Gibbs had earlier finished third in the opening moto after having to shed his goggles, and with the race-two win, took second on the day behind championship leader Dean Ferris and ahead of Brett Metcalfe.

With the result, Gibbs further shored up his second position in Australia’s premier motocross championship, and underlined his determination to be the man to break the winning streak of runaway leader Ferris.

His KTM factory team mate Luke Styke found himself inexplicably down on the level that propelled him to a podium a week ago, and could only managed eighth overall after 7-8 finishes.

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Jay Marmont – KTM Motocross Racing Team Manager: “We’ve put a lot of emphasis on our starts lately and Kirk got two holeshots. Unfortunately, in the first moto he ran it a bit wide and Dean snuck up the inside, and then he copped a bit of roost with some lappers and got stuck with his roll-offs and had to take the goggles off and couldn’t really stick in there behind Metcalfe with no goggles, so he finished third in that. He got a really good start in the second races and it was a really good battle between Metcalfe, Gibbs and Ferris. Ferris got Metty and then Metty’s goggles came off, and then Ferris had to take his off. It’s a bit of a shame that riders have to keep taking their goggles off with the conditions out there, and it shows how important it is to get the start.”

Kirk Gibbs – KTM450SX-F: “It was good to get another moto win, but obviously I’m chasing that first overall. The track formed up a little bit weird after the few showers we had, so the ruts formed up a bit funny and didn’t really flow that well. I qualified first but made a big mistake out the back of SuperPole and ended up fifth. It’s frustrating to keep giving away points there but we’re all working on that. In the first race I got a good start, but I rode really tight and got arm pump instantly and just didn’t flow. The second was a lot better; I just got out front and rode clean and smart. It was hard with lappers and as soon as I made any kind of mistake I would have those guys right up on me, but still, much better to be fighting at the front. We’ve worked really hard on starts lately, so hopefully this is the start of a turnaround.”

Luke Styke – KTM450SX-F: “I didn’t have much this weekend; the body just didn’t give me much – it’s a bit disappointing coming off the high of last week. I struggled with the track all day long, and with the lappers, and in the first one I just couldn’t move forward – the guys that I was battling with were all kind of a similar pace and I got the worst end of the stick in the results. At least my bike was great, but I’ve got a bit of a break now to build and I’ve just got to stay positive. I don’t think I need to change too much. I can’t really put my thumb on what we did wrong today, but we weren’t good.”