Image: Foremost Media.

KTM Racing Team’s Kirk Gibbs landed inside the top-five overall at Wonthaggi on Sunday, expressing mixed emotions afterwards following his performance at the Penrite ProMX season-opener.

The 2015 Australian MX1 champion left Victoria fired up after notching a 7-4 scorecard, left disappointed with a mistake in the first moto, yet optimistic as he continues to build back race fitness after a pre-season injury.

“It’s always good to take some good points from the first round, but to be honest, I felt a little rusty from a lack of bike and race time,” Gibbs reflected post-race.

“I was a bit disappointed to fall over in the first race as that could’ve been an easy top-five turned into a hard-fought seventh. I was happier with my pace in the second moto, but obviously, I would have been more satisfied with a podium.

“It’s always good to start racing and know where I’m at. I know what I need to work on before Mackay and it always lights a bit of a fire when you get beaten.”

While Gibbs didn’t quite have the pace for the podium at round one, he has previously indicated that he expects to come of form as the season progresses. The factory 450 SX-F rider currently sits fifth in the MX1 standings as the series heads to Mackay, QLD, for the second round on 10 April.