Image: Jeremy Hammer (Foremost Media).

National motocross number two Kirk Gibbs has undergone a successful surgery on his broken femur that he sustained yesterday at Queensland Moto Park.

Gibbs was in the initial stages of preparing for the Australian Supercross Championship, however a costly mistake through the whoop section saw the former MX1 champion crash heavily.

The injury will now force Gibbs to withdraw his Motocross of Nations (MXoN) entry, while also sidelining him from the Australian Supercross series that will commence at Jimbooma, Queensland, later this month.

“It’s a big blow to the team and for everybody involved,” said team manager Kyle Blunden. “We’ve seen Kirk grow as a rider and as a person since 2012, and to see him finally get an opportunity that they’ve wanted their whole life, and then have that opportunity disappear is gut-wrenching.”

The KTM Motocross Racing Team have commenced negotiations as they source a rider to replace Gibbs throughout the supercross championship. Team regular Luke Styke won’t be back racing in time, continuing to be replaced by teenager Jesse Dobson.

“We obviously have sponsorship obligations to have two MX1 bikes on the track, so as soon as we knew that Kirk was okay, we started pursuing somebody relatively quickly,” Blunden added. “We are in the process of putting something together for a second rider right now and hopefully we will be able to announce something early next week.”

An announcement from Motorcycling Australia regarding Gibbs’ MXoN replacement is expected to made in the near future, with ex-MXGP rider Todd Waters (Wilson’s Coolair Motul Suzuki) slated to take the spot.