Raceline Pirelli KTM press release:

Raceline Pirelli KTM’s Jayden Rykers and Morgan Forgarty were forced to contend with the most difficult track conditions of the series so far yesterday, with Round 4 of the MX Nationals at Horsham marking the first mud race of the championship.

Despite the weather being a sunny 19 degrees on Sunday, heavy rain in the lead up to the event meant riders were met with a complete mud fest for racing yesterday, both Rykers and Fogarty experiencing their fair share of challenges on the treacherous circuit.

MX2 rider Rykers started his day off well, qualifying in a comfortable 7th position, however when moto one kicked off, all competitors were forced to contend with a track that was more about survival than skill. Unfortunately for Rykers moto one resulted in a DNF, while in moto two, thankfully the track had dried out slightly, providing the class with more grip, and at the conclusion of the 20-minute moto the KTM 250 SX-F rider had charged his way to a solid eighth position. Despite being unable to finish the opening moto, Rykers finished in 14th overall at Horsham.

“I finished with a DNF, and an eighth yesterday so it definitely wasn’t the day we were hoping for. In the first moto I was able to tuck up the inside of the first corner and come out in the top five, I made up a few positions, but with poor vision I unfortunately went down and the bike got very hot which forced me to DNF,” Rykers explained.

“Moto two wasn’t much better, but I managed to makes some passes on a track that was fairly single lined, so there were some positives. We have Murray Bridge in less than a week so we’ll regroup and get ready for that.”

“Hopefully we can finish off the first half of the season strong with good results this weekend and head in to the mid-season break with confidence.”

For Round 3 Pirelli MXD overall winner Fogarty, Round 4 at Horsham was one he would describe as challenging. After heading in to the weekend high on confidence, the Victorian rider was not satisfied when he qualified in 11th position yesterday morning. Despite not being highly experienced in the conditions he was faced with, Fogarty did well to race to 16,7 results, rewarding him with tenth overall at the conclusion of the round.

“It was a bit of a weekend to forget and move on from to be honest,” Fogarty shared

“In the first moto the track was brutal – there were riders going down everywhere and I ended up getting stuck in the mud and having my bike overheating.

“Moto two was a bit better, but I got a bad start and was playing catch up for most of the race. I actually got taken out on the last lap which was disappointing, but I managed to finish in seventh.

“All in all, it was a challenging weekend, but we’ll put it behind us and move on to Round 5 at Murray Bridge.”

The 2017 MX Nationals will continue at Murray Bridge in South Australia with Round 5 set to take place on Sunday, May 28. Visit the official series website at www.mxnationals.com.au for further information.

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