KTM Australia press release:

MX Nationals defending champion and KTM Motocross Racing Team rider Kirk Gibbs claimed the series red plate for the first time in a vintage season of Australian championship level racing when he claimed second in the fourth round of the series at Murray Bridge, SA.

The South Australian born racer was determined to make good at his ‘other’ home track, and after qualifying fastest and claiming a fourth place finish in a frenzied first moto, Gibbs bounced back to break through for his first race win of the championship in the second moto.

The win gave him second on the day, behind former GP racer Todd Waters and ahead of decorated international Brett Metcalfe.

Gibbs now takes the slimmest of championship leads into next week’s round at Wanneroo, in an intensely-fought title race in which just five points separate the top three contenders. Gibbs’ teammate Jesse Dobson opted for the active recovery route as he returned to the KTM Motocross Racing Team after his recent pelvis fracture, with just three days of saddle time.

He blew the cobwebs out with a 10th place in the first moto, however, while pushing for sixth in the second race, the young Queenslander crashed hard and withdrew with a damaged bike.

MX1 Championship Points after round 4:
1. Kirk Gibbs 252, 2. Dean Ferris 251, 3. Todd Waters 247, 4. Matt Moss 228, 5. Brett Metcalfe 225, 6. Kade Mosig 187, 7. Dylan Long 185, 8. Daniel Reardon 171, 9. Jay Wilson 152, 10. Jacob Wright 151

Kyle Blunden, KTM Motocross Team Manager – “Overall I think today went fantastic for us. Caleb had a clear goal in his mind that he wanted to get as many points back as it could after the last round and he definitely went about doing that in a dominant way, despite coming from behind in both motos. In MX1 it’s been very tight, the racing has been brilliant so far and it picked up right where it left off. Kirk had some great speed early on, but had some problems with lappers and slipped from second back to fourth. In the second he got another really good start, and was third about the halfway mark and was able to make a pass on Ferris into second, then pushed hard to take the win from Metcalfe. He came away with that moto and the red plate. Jesse only had three days on the bike prior to the round and it was one of those weekends where he had to find his feet and see where he was at. He was 10th in the first moto and was sitting comfortably about seventh in the second when he had a decent crash and bent the bike up badly. With another week under his belt, he should feel very optimistic coming into Wanneroo.”

Kirk Gibbs (KTM 450 SX-F) – “It was a bit four-seasons-in-one-day in South Australia, but it was good to be back and see everyone. I’m happy as much about getting a race win as anything. It was pretty tight racing, in race one I got up into second, but a few little wrong line choices cost me, and I slipped back to fourth, which was pretty frustrating because I feel that with room to breathe I could have done a lot better. In the second I just plugged away, passing Ferris and passing Brett for the win. It was good close racing for the fans all day but every time you get close enough to make a pass you get a mouthful of roost or dirty goggles, and without many jumps on the track it was hard to find a place to rip a tear-off. The red plate is good, but a point in front is very tight – I’ve just got to keep plugging away.”

Jessie Dobson (KTM 450 SX-F) – “Really happy to be back at the races, my bike was working great, but I wasn’t happy with the result. That first moto I just put myself in a bad position off the start with a bad gate pick and ended up out wide. The track was really one-lined today so I struggled to pass in that first one. I ended up tenth, which was something to build off, but it’s not where I belong. I was cooked by the end of that first one and walked away feeling like I was starting from square one again. But in the second I had a good start and I was sitting in seventh trying to push for sixth, but had a big crash and bent the bike. After that it wasn’t worth trying to race the bike in the shape it was in and possibly hurt myself on a rough track, so I pulled in. I want to get inside the top five, that’s where I want to be, and if I put myself in good positions, that’s where I belong.”

In MX2 racing, KTM Motocross Racing Team rider Caleb Ward set about reclaiming the points lead he lost at Broadford through very little fault of his own, and powered his KTM 250 SX-F to a clinical 1-1 performance to reduce the deficit from 30 points back to 20, and climb from seventh back to fourth in just one round. Mandurah City KTM’s Dean Porter and Raceline Pirelli KTM Motocross Racing Team development rider Dylan Wills were sixth and seventh on the day, while Davey Motorsport rider Jayden Rykers maintained his sixth place in the championship with eighth on the day.

MX2 Championship Points after round 4:
1. Jed Beaton 232, 2. Nathan Crawford 231, 3. Jake Moss 216, 4. Caleb Ward 212, 5. Wilson Todd 198, 6. Jayden Rykers 188, 7. Kyle Webster 174, 8. Dylan Wills 173, 9. P 162, 10. Hamish Harwood 161

Caleb Ward (KTM 250 SX-F) – “It was a really awesome day for me, it’s the first time I’ve gone 1-1 this year and I got the holeshot money as well. Pretty sweet. In moto one I ran wide and just sat in second for a while, pacing. I made a move on Crawford into the lead, and he kept me honest the whole race until like the second last lap when he dropped it. Then in the second I got another really good start and was sitting in third behind Crawford and Moss – the roost was really painful – but then I put in a bit of a sprint, pulled a bit of a gap on both of them and just maintained it and took it home. I made up 10 of the 30 points deficit in one round, so that was pretty good.”

Jayden Rykers (KTM 250 SX) – “That was my best qualifying today, got a top-ten gate pick. The first moto was good, the front guys were a little ahead and I could do my own thing and ride my race, then in the next one I got a bad start and found it really difficult to pass so that was disappointing but what can you do? After a little bit of rain I struggled a bit on the slicker wet surfaces inside the berms. It meant that you couldn’t really leave the one quick line when you were following someone which made it hard to pass. For my first year I’m definitely happy to be in sixth position with a few guys right in front of me at this point, I’m definitely looking to make inside the top-five bracket.”

In the MXD class, Raceline Pirelli KTM Motocross Racing Team development rider Wade Kirkland maintained his second place in the Under 19’s championship with second on the day aboard his KTM 250 SX. Seventeen-year-old KTM 250 SX-F rider Cooper Pozniak (KTM Newcastle) was third overall after finishing on equal points to Kirkland, and now moves into third place place on a very tightly packed under 19’s leaderboard.