KTM Australia press release:

Image: Andy McGechan (BikeSport NZ).

KTM Motocross Racing Team rider Kirk Gibbs took his second runner-up finish of the New Zealand Motocross Championships at the series’ third round in Rotorua.

Gibbs kicked off proceedings with his first race win of the 2015 series when he won the opening moto on his KTM 450 SX-F, then the Queensland-based South Australian finished fourth in both the second and third races.

The result saw Gibbs finish the day nine points in arrears of defending champion Cody Cooper, with Ben Townley third and a further five points back.

Gibbs’ KTM teammate Luke Styke had an up and down day, suffering with arm pump in his first moto and finishing seventh before going on to log a blistering race two second place.

However, he fell in the first turn of Race Three, and was run over by several following competitors, but staunchly soldiered on to salvage the tenth place points.

Defending champion Cody Cooper now leads the New Zealand national championships almost 20 points clear of Gibbs, with John Phillips third and Styke in eighth place.

The series concludes next weekend at Pukekohe.

Danny Apro, KTM crew chief – “All in all it was a pretty good day. We had a bit of a mixed bag of results for Luke, with a little bit of a glitch in the first race and unfortunately he crashed in the last one. Gibbsy rode really well. He had a really good first race, then in the second and third race he got kind of mediocre starts and wasn’t able to make too much progress. We’d done some different suspension settings throughout the week and got to try that in a racing situation on a track which was very technical and rough, so that will help us throughout our Nationals campaign. Jordan and Kyle did a great job with that.”

Kirk Gibbs – “We haven’t been here before so to get a win when we were learning the track was fantastic. In that first moto I got a good start, came up the inside and into the lead, got passed again, and then about 3-4 laps in I made the pass. BT was on the rear of me the whole race and I got a bit of arm pump, but I held on to get the win, so I’m really happy with that. The second race I should have done a lot better, me and Stykesy had a good battle, but then I just couldn’t make the pass I needed, to progress. In the last moto, I came out about fifth or sixth and worked my way up. The track got really dry and square-edged so in the end I just rode smart and didn’t do anything over my head. My starts were better here so I’ll keep working at those and try to fine tune them for the final. I like riding at Pukky, so I’m really looking forward to it. I got a win there last year so I’m keen to get a couple more before we head off.”

Luke Styke – “I’m pretty bummed – I thought I was in for a good weekend. They cut the qualifying about eight minutes short, so I couldn’t get my fast lap in and I ended up seventh. In the first moto I rode really aggressive and made a few mistakes, got some arm pump and lost a few positions. The second moto I bounced back with a second and I was stoked! Third moto I went down in the first turn and three or four guys ran over me. The bike was pretty twisted up and I was pretty beaten up, but nothing serious. We’ll bounce back for next weekend. I feel like my results aren’t so bad; I’m still learning how to race the 450 efficiently but it’s definitely good preparation for me. I’ve put myself in the wrong position a few times and it is a little bit frustrating, but by the time Horsham comes around hopefully we’ll be in a better position to put some results down.”

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