KTM Motocross Racing Team riders Kirk Gibbs and Luke Styke experienced mixed fortunes at the first round of the New Zealand Motocross Championship at New Plymouth, as the team continued its pre-season build-up towards the Australian season.

Gibbs was again in strong form on his KTM 450 SX-F, and despite having never seen the track before, raced to 2-4-2 results on the day for second overall behind Scott Columb.

The big improver was 450 rookie Luke Styke, who got off to blistering starts and ran near or at the front all day, but was denied a top finish by an electrical gremlin which stopped him in the first moto, then resurfaced in the third.

Gibbs now trails Columb by eight points as the New Zealand championships turns to Timaru in a fortnight’s time.

Danny Apro, KTM team manager: “It was a mixed bag of results for us. It was a track with a really great layout up and down the hills that got unbelievably slippery as it went, so it was a good challenge for us to adapt to. Our speed this time around was a lot better than Woodville, and it proved that we’ve made really good progress with the bikes’ set-ups. The electrical fault with Luke’s bike in the first moto unfortunate and we’ll give that a full diagnosis in the workshop and get to the bottom of it. He was riding really well and got extremely good starts in all three motos and I think probably would have won that.”

Kirk Gibbs: “Today was okay. I got caught up with a few mistakes and other riders today, but my speed and my fitness has been good, I just need to work on the one-percenters – I just need to get off the line. In the last one I got a decent start and got in there with Scotty and Luke, who was riding really well. I put a little charge at the end of the race but got a bit sideways and went off the track and that blew my chance to make a run of it. I think we can click off a few wins if we get a bit better starts. Hopefully I can come out swinging at Timaru.”

Luke Styke – “I felt good today, and as the day went on, the track got rougher and I found a bit of form. I think I was overriding it a bit at first and making a few mistakes when it was really slippery but later on it really suited my style. We had a hiccup with the bike today, but the crew will get on top of that this week. It’s good to get our bad luck out the way before the season starts at home!”

For more information on KTM Motorcycles, visit www.ktm.com.au or www.facebook.com/ktmaustralia.