Raceline Pirelli KTM press release:

It was a bittersweet weekend for Raceline Pirelli KTM’s Mitch Evans, who celebrated a podium only to have a post-race protest push him off the box at Round 9 of the Pirelli MX Nationals in Queensland on Sunday.

Evans who has gone from strength to strength throughout his 2018 Rookie MX1 season, arrived to his home round in Gladstone ready to challenge for moto wins once again, and despite being within the top three in both races, a penalty proved costly on Sunday to say the least.

The Northern Queensland local took P1 in qualifying on Sunday, before finishing second to 2018 MX1 champion Dean Ferris in Raceline Performance Superpole, then in the pair of 30 minute motos, Evans charged to 3-2 race results, which initially awarded him with second overall for the round.

However, a successful post race protest saw Evans eventually relegated to fourth at Round 9 – the young gun unfortunately passing a lapped rider under a yellow flag which saw him devastatingly docked two positions.

Despite what was a bittersweet outing for Evans at Gladstone, he still sits in second in the MX1 championship standings with only a single round of racing remaining.

“Looking back at the weekend, the penalty I received really does hurt, but I think the main thing we can take away from Gladstone is that we are becoming consistently up there every weekend,” Evans explained.

“If you look at the race results, lap times, and Superpole, we are proving that what we are doing is working, so I plan on putting what happened on Sunday behind me, and refocusing for this weekend’s race at Coolum.

“The track on the weekend was a lot of fun – it was technical and there were a few line options which made racing a bit more interesting – it was also nice to be back in the warmth, it’s what I’m used to and it was our closest race to home.

“I’m really proud of what we’re achieving and the combination of myself and the KTM is making me really enjoy my riding, we have one round to go, we’re sitting second in the championship and we plan on heading to round ten for business as usual.”

Raceline Pirelli KTM’s MX2 rider Jayden Rykers once again lodged a consistent weekend in Queensland’s North.

After qualifying in 13th place, Rykers raced to 10th in moto one, followed by a ninth place finish in moto two, which saw him conclude the round well inside the top ten in eighth overall.

“Another pretty consistent weekend. The track was awesome at Gladstone – it started off being really heavy but it actually formed up really deep ruts,” Rykers explained.

“In moto one my start was decent but I went to make an early move and got lost in the mud. I fought back from last to tenth though so my speed was there which is good.

“In moto two I struggled a little to find my flow early and with our second race being only 20 minutes I could only manage a ninth. Now, I’m just looking forward to a deep Coolum track this coming Sunday.”

The team will now begin preparation for the tenth and final round of the 2018 Pirelli MX Nationals which will take place on August 11-12 at Coolum on the Sunshine Coast.

For more information on the Raceline Pirelli KTM, head to the teams’ official website, www.raceline.com.au

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

For more information on the Pirelli MX Nationals head to www.mxnationals.com.au