Raceline Pirelli KTM press release:

Raceline Pirelli KTM’s Dylan Wills and Wade Kirkland have managed to salvage valuable championship points, and race to some top results at Round 9 of the MX Nationals at Toowoomba yesterday.

Despite some challenges throughout the day, both Wills and Kirkland recovered well across two motos at Toowoomba, with both riders recording race finishes well inside the top ten throughout Round 9.

For Wills, Toowoomba provided an overall result which was one of the best of the season. After qualifying in 5th position in the MX2 class, Wills raced to 6th in moto one, while in race two, Wills took the second holeshot of the day, however unfortunately went down whilst in the lead in the top section of the track, eventually clawing back to 8th position. With 6,8 finishes, Wills was awarded with an impressive 5th overall for the round.

For Pirelli MXD pilot Kirkland, Round 9 provided some up and down results. After qualifying just outside the top three in fifth, Kirkland looked to step things up in race one. However, a bike issue whilst running inside the top three saw Kirkland nurse his machine to the finish line in a bid to gather points, wrapping up the first moto in 21st position. However, in race two Kirkland was on fire – after starting in fifth position, the Tasmanian rider made a number of passes, eventually concluding the final race of the day in second place. Kirkland’s 21,2 results saw him finish the round just outside the MXD top ten, in 11th overall.

Wills now sits in 6th in the MX2 championship standings, while Kirkland slipped to 4th in the Pirelli MXD standings after Round 9. One round now remains, with the 2016 grand finale taking place at Coolum next weekend.

Dylan Wills MX2 – 5th Overall (6th, 8th)

“Toowoomba was pretty crazy! We had few little issues throughout the day but the whole team worked together super professionally and we put it all behind us and went racing,” Wills shared.

“We scored 5th overall for the day which was awesome, my riding was pretty good and I battled with the guys that are going for the championship in Moto 1 so that was good.

“Moto 2 I made a few little mistakes on my behalf, which cost me a fair bit. I sound like a broken record saying it’s only a matter of time, but it really is. As a team we improve each round and as a rider I improve every round. So we’ll go into Coolum and give it 110% and then turn our focus to supercross which I’m really excited about!”

Wade Kirkland MXD – 11th Overall (21st, 2nd)

“I had a bit of bad luck in that first moto and in the second I came second so that was good. There’s still one more round to go though, and anything can happen, so we’ll see,” Kirkland shared.

“Toowoomba is a really good track, I really like it; it was extra tacky this morning but then kind of hard packed this afternoon, just like the track at home gets in summer time so I was comfortable with it.

“Mitch Evans has stepped it up obviously, but I think I’m getting better as I’m going, my arm pump has been a lot less of a problem. I rode Coolum last year and it was good, I like the sand, so I’m looking forward to the last round of the year.”

Chris Woods – Raceline Pirelli KTM Team Manager

“It was a bit of an up and down weekend for us, we had some really great moments, and then we had some difficult ones too, but that’s racing,” Woods shared.

“It’s a bit frustrating at this point in the championship that Wade had that issue with the bike in the first one, but he managed to get it going again, and he showed a lot of heart staying out there and doing what he needed to do for points.

“It was a pretty positive weekend for Dylan. 5th in qualifying was a step in the right direction, and if he hadn’t of gone down in that second race it would have been an even better result for the round which is very promising.

“The bottom line is that we’re going home with two healthy riders, and we still have one round to go next weekend, so we’ll all be working super hard over the next week, and be hoping to go out with a bang at Coolum.”

Raceline Pirelli KTM will now prepare for the Grand Finale of the 2016 MX Nationals being held at Coolum in Queensland on August 27-28, 2016.

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

For further information on the MX Nationals, head to www.mxnationals.com.au