KTM Australia press release:

It was a strong weekend for the KTM Motocross Racing Team at Appin’s second round of the 2018 MX Nationals in New South Wales today, as MX1 class contenders Kirk Gibbs and Luke Clout finished second and third respectively, while defending champion Egan Mastin collected sixth overall in MX2.

Gibbs and Clout qualified for the Super Pole session, setting the second and fourth fastest times aboard their KTM 450 SX-F machines. In race one, Gibbs latched onto the lead pack, never giving up as he put a last corner pass to snatch second position by a mere 0.007s.

With a home crowd behind him, Clout pushed through for fifth in the opening affair, but it was race two that would see the youthful talent shine as he led the field both prior and following a race restart, relinquishing the lead in the final stages to earn his best race result of the year with second.

Gibbs also put on a strong showing in the final outing, overcoming a mistake to ultimately wind up fourth and, as a result, he still holds second in the standings, while Clout has been promoted to third.

It was a challenging day for number one plate-holder Mastin, who struggled to come to terms with the technical, rutted hillside circuit. A battle with arm-pump also played against the New South Welshman as he mustered up a 7-6 scorecard onboard his KTM 250 SX-F, positioning him eighth in the standings as the series heads to Wonthaggi in Victoria for rounds three and four on 19-20 May.

Jay Marmont – Team Manager, KTM Motocross Racing Team: “MX1 was awesome, both the boys were on fire in practice – one would go quickest, then the other would go quickest – it was just good to see them up front, so I knew we were in for a good day. The first moto was pretty decent with Luke in fifth and Kirk rode like normal Kirk, putting on the charge in the last part of the moto to get second place. That last moto was exceptional to finally see Luke ride to his potential, because we’ve been working really hard with him this year – it really proved that he’s adapted well to the KTM 450 SX-F and managed to lead the race for more than halfway to finish third overall, which is a great result for him and the team. Kirk also walked away with good points in second position overall, which was another podium result. Egan struggled a little bit, but we’ve got a new plan for him and we’re going to adjust his program a little bit. We’re going to go back to the drawing board and try to get him back up the front. The team is working really hard and we’ll keep pushing, so we’ll see how we go at Wonthaggi.”

Kirk Gibbs – KTM 450 SX-F: “I’m disappointed in some ways because I just feel a lot more confident and happy with the way I’m riding, so that’s why I think it hurts even more to finish second now. Everything’s clicking and I’m in the right position to win, but it’s just not happening for me. I started off the day well, in the first moto I was sitting around fourth, got into third and put on a hard charge for second. That second moto I was just sitting there, I didn’t really feel anyone flicked the switch and took off, so I slowly started to chip away at them and made a little mistake, went down and that’s all she wrote. It’s frustrating that a little mistake rewrites the whole day. Second overall is still good, but the points deficit is getting bigger and you don’t really want to give too much of a buffer at this point of the year.”

Luke Clout – KTM 450 SX-F: “It’s good to get the monkey off my back and get the first podium with the KTM Motocross Racing Team. These boys work super-hard and to repay them is a good feeling. I was kind of disappointed I let the race win slip, but Dean [Ferris] really picked it up in the end. I’ve got a bit of work to do, but I think I showed some good speed today, rode smoothly and didn’t let him fluster me, so I think that’s positive. I’m pretty happy and – like I said – I would’ve liked to have won the last one, but second is good as well, so I’m happy with it.”

Egan Mastin – KTM 250 SX-F: “It wasn’t the best day for me. The first moto, I got off to a good start, but I just didn’t gel with the track today. I’m going to go back and work on a couple of things with myself and the team. There’s only one or two percent that I’m missing, then I’ll be there – hopefully the next round will be a lot better. I just didn’t feel it today in the motos, got a bit of arm-pump in both of them and this has never really been a strong track of mine throughout my career. It was a little bit frustrating for me, I tightened up a little bit during the first half and towards the end I was a little loose, but by that time, it was too late.”