KTM Australia press release:

The KTM Motocross Racing Team’s Kirk Gibbs will carry the championship leader’s red plate into this weekend’s second round of the MX Nationals championship at Appin, near Sydney, but for him it’s every bit a case of business as usual.

Gibbs dominated the opening round of the 2015 series at Horsham a fortnight ago to take the first red plate of his professional career, but the Queensland-based South Australian knows that after just the first of 10 rounds, the distinction means very little.

His teammate Luke Styke was also in brilliant form at what was his first ever premier-class national round in Australia, and the 2013 MX2 champion sits in fourth place coming into what will be his local round.

Rob Twyerould, KTM Motocross Racing Team Manager – “We have high expectations, but we’re certainly not getting ahead of ourselves. With the short weeks it’s been tough for Danny, Kyle and Jordan to turn everything around, but they’ve done very well, so we’re ready to go.

The bike looks fantastic with a red plate on it, but that’s as far as we’re jumping ahead of ourselves. We’re only one round down and we’ve got nine to go, it’s all about taking each round as it comes. Particularly for Luke, this will be a great round for him and Kirk has always done well here in the past as well.”

Kirk Gibbs – “Leading the championship is great but, things are not one bit different for me. There is a long way to go, so it’s the same thing for me; head down and bum up and just get after it. I’ve been putting in and now it’s time to just make sure I’m fresh for the weekend, I’ve had a couple of days off and now I’ve just had a final ride this morning. I normally do pretty well at Appin and my bike is perfect, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Luke Styke – “It should be a good weekend. We’ve had a solid two weeks of practice and training and I’m feeling fit and healthy coming into Appin, and looking forward to another good result. In ‘13 I won the 250 class, so I’m pretty familiar with the track as it is, and I practice on the practice track there every Tuesday, so I’m familiar with the dirt and I know how everything forms up, so we are looking forward to the weekend ahead. They’ve put $6-10K worth of mulch into the track, so hopefully some good lines will form up and there will be some good racing.”

In MX2 Racing: Dylan Wills was the highest KTM finisher at Horsham in sixth place, one point ahead of Factory Support rider Caleb Ward, who after the first moto crash, scythed through the pack after a terrible moto 2 start – with his gear shifter caked in mud and his bike stuck in third! Factory support riders Hamish Harwood and Jack Simpson both struggled at Horsham, and will be keen to turn things around at Appin.

Caleb Ward – “I’m pretty keen, I’ve been doing a lot of starts in the last two weeks, I’ve been practising them heaps and making sure I get them all good for this weekend, as that’s what let me down a bit at Horsham. Other than that I’ve been just doing a few skill things and some motos and having some fun. I have only raced at Appin once before and I sort of made a few mistakes, so hopefully I’ll be a bit better sorted out this time around and just get some good starts and stay consistent.”

Jack Simpson – “I’ve always struggled with Horsham since I was 11 or 12 years old – there’s something about it that just does not suit me and a bit of self doubt didn’t help one bit.
This weekend I’m going to completely forget I even did the first round and just go into Appin with a positive mind. I’ve got a positive mind – I love the place. I’ve done some good preparation for the last couple of weeks so I’m ready to rumble. Let the gates drop and we’ll get into it.”

In MXD racing, KTM support rider Jayden Rykers (Mandurah City KTM) is the best placed of the Orange men, and currently sits third in class, with Wayde Carter fifth.