KTM Australia press release:

KTM Australia’s factory and factory support riders poured on the sweet juice at yesterday’s fourth round of the Monster Energy MX Nationals series at Murray Bridge, winning the Premier MX1 class, extending the championship lead, winning MX2, and finishing second in MXD.

For the second time in as many years, current MX1 championship leader Kirk Gibbs won his ‘home’ round, using 1-2 scores on the day to extend his championship lead to 39 points, just one round shy of the series halfway point.

KTM 450 SXF-mounted Gibbs used two emphatic holeshots backed up by some smart and consistent riding to further illustrate his place as a contender for this year’s crown.
KTM Motocross Racing Team mate and Round Three winner Luke Styke couldn’t find his rhythm on the day and was forced to settle for sixth overall – enough to maintain his second position in the nationals, but far from enough to satisfy him.

The 2013 MX2 Champion was crestfallen at failing to master the conditions, but will doubtless put plenty of work into the issue in time for the next round at Coolum in a fortnight’s time.

Rob Twyerould, KTM Motocross Racing Team Manager – “Kirk’s championship lead is out to 39 points and Luke maintained second which is awesome. Kirk rode like a champion today so it was very good. It was a challenging track that was very rutty and bumpy and really highlighted the guys’ fitness.
We are going in the right direction and Gibbsy is getting great starts now and riding so solid. The trick is to stay fit and healthy, and stay smart and he’s just taking it a round at a time.
Luke just struggled today and his head just wasn’t in it. He just struggled a bit with line selection and the confidence to go over the bumps fast. We’ll just hope for better at the next round.”

Kirk Gibbs – “The day was good, I qualified well, but I hit a marker in SuperPole and my front brake went a bit spongy. I got two ripper starts and just tried to ride smart and safe and kept clicking off clean laps. The boys were pressuring me, but I was good enough to come away with a win in that first moto. I made a couple of silly mistakes and Monea got by me, but I was able to keep him honest. I was happy with my speed today but those couple of little mistakes probably cost me a 1-1. I’m really happy with extending the points lead though, and making a decent gap to keep trying to open up.”

Luke Styke – “I’m pretty devastated; I just wasn’t feeling it today. We thought the track was going to be a lot softer so we set it up more for sand, but it got pretty hard. I don’t know, I struggled all day, right from the first session. We’ll bounce back, make it happen for the next one. I’ve just got to find my feet again and put a good result in at Coolum. Show everyone what I can do.”

In MX2 Racing: KTM Factory Support rider Caleb Ward made his return from knee injury a memorable one with a stunning, two-moto domination over Husqvarna’s Luke Arbon and Takeshi Katsuya. Last year Ward used Murray Bridge as a springboard to attack the back half of the season, and with his taste for sand tracks, it’s an ominous sign for his opponents approaching next round at Coolum.

Caleb Ward – “I couldn’t be happier. I got a good start in the first one and made my move for the lead on lap four, then just sort of rode my own race – stayed smooth and smart and consistent and won that one. In the second I was inside the top 10, but I made four or five passes on the first lap, and got into third behind Luke and then we both passed Riley Graham on probably lap four. Towards the middle I faded a little bit and sort of caught my breath, and then put in a big effort in the last couple of laps to close in the gap and made the pass and got another moto win. Pretty cool. The knee was a little bit tender in the first one, but I didn’t even notice it in the second moto.”

In MXD racing, KTM Factory Support racer Jayden Rykers continued the improvement he’s shown this season with his best result of the year – a second place behind Husqvarna’s Connor Tierney. The result has leap-frogged the Western Australian four places in the championship, into fifth place behind fellow KTM rider Wayde Carter, who was fifth on the day.

Jayden Rykers – “Second is okay. I am after firsts but I can’t complain with what happened on the day. I had an issue with my race bike in qualifying and ended up racing my practice bike in both motos. I’ve had a second and a third so far this year, now I just need a number 1 to complete the set! First is where I think I belong, so I’m not going to stop working until I get there.”

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