KTM Australia press release:

At the business end of his third year in the premier class of Australia’s most important motocross championship, KTM Motocross Racing Team rider Kirk Gibbs is on the verge of inking his name in the annals of MX Nationals history.

The MX Nationals championship continues this weekend with the series’ penultimate round, at the spectacular Echo Valley Raceway in the city of Toowoomba, 125 kilometres west of Brisbane.

The Queensland-based South Australian has epitomised what it takes to win a championship this year, demonstrating the outright speed to win 6 races, but also showing the consistency and dogged determination to turn a bad day into a not-so-bad day.

Gibbs has never once relinquished the red plate he earned the first time at the opening round at Horsham, and with a 65-point lead and just two rounds remaining he now only needs to stretch his lead by a further 11 points to secure the most coveted title in Australian motocross.

His nearest challenger is his teammate Luke Styke, the class rookie who took over second place in the championship at the third round of the series at Broadford, and has maintained KTM’s spectacular one-to run ever since.

Gibbs and Styke have both been testing and practising on their new 2016 model KTM 450 SX-Fs for the last few weeks, and the team is excited at the prospect of a successful race debut for the new bikes.

Rob Twyerould, KTM Motocross Racing Team Manager – “We’ve had a solid three weeks of testing the 2016 KTM 450 SX-Fs and the bikes are just amazing so we’re all really looking forward to seeing the boys race them. I think Echo Valley is going to be fantastic; even when we were up there for the practice day the other day the track was looking really good. I think they’ve got some really proactive people there; some real enthusiasts who feel the history of the club and it was great to meet them. Kirk needs 11 points over his teammate to win this weekend. And I’m pumping up his teammate to keep it going until the last race!”

Kirk Gibbs – “The shoulder I fractured is a lot better five weeks down the track. Obviously the last round was pretty frustrating. Not being able to ride leading up to it just lead to silly mistakes. I’m really looking forward to getting to Toowoomba – I like that place. Echo Valley was where I took my first MX1 moto win, and it gets nice big ruts and is nice and technical which is right up my alley. The new bike is working well, the power is great and it actually feels lighter. We did some good test sessions straight after the last round and I’ve been getting some really good bike time in, so I’m really excited. If a stretch the lead by 11 points this weekend I win the championship, but I won’t worry about that too much, I hope Stykesy has a great weekend and he can keep himself in second.”

Luke Styke – “I’m looking forward to riding the new bike on the new layout at Echo Valley. Hopefully they rip it good and let it get some nice ruts and it should be a good weekend. It was good to me last time I went there in 2013 and I really like how technical it is and how you can’t rush the track. It’s a skill-oriented track that separates the good riders from the mediocre riders. The new bike is pretty good, so we’ll wait to see how it reacts under a racing situation when the track starts to form up. Hopefully it works great. Gibbsy’s got a fair few points on me but I’ll do what I can and hopefully I can get a few more wins.”

In MX2 Racing: KTM Factory Support rider Caleb Ward has won four of the last five rounds, and with the final two stops on the MX Nationals calendar in his home state of Queensland, can’t for the life of him see a reason why he shouldn’t add two more overall wins to his season tally. KTM Newcastle’s Dylan Wills will be another to watch after stamping his authority last round at Nowra with a dominant Moto 2 victory and third place on the day.

Caleb Ward– “I’m looking forward to Toowoomba this weekend. I just need to get some good starts and hopefully go out and try to win some races. I’ve ridden there twice now, 2013 and a practice day there two weeks ago. I always want to win, so I’ll just try to go there and try to do my own thing, not worry about anyone else and just try to get out front and win. That’s the plan. I think the trick there might be just being smooth and trying to get set up nice and early for the corners. There should be some pretty big rights forming up hopefully, so I think just prepare early for the corners and just try to flow with the track. I want to win these last couple and then just get straight into preparing for Supercross. I’ve only ridden on Supercross track once in my life before now, so need to put some practice in.”

In MXD racing, KTM Factory Support racer Jayden Rykers has won the last four Under 19 championship motos straight, but only another two wins in Queensland will please the fiercely competitive Western Australian. Rykers took over second place in the MXD championship last time out, and he currently sits just 18 points away from the series lead.

Jayden Rykers – “I went back home to ride the state titles in WA, and stayed back on for a little bit longer and had a bit of a rest so I’m feeling quite good and ready for the weekend. I went up to the Echo Valley ride day two weeks ago so I know the layout of the track. It’s a cool layout – there’s nothing else like it in the whole series this year. The elevation is awesome there.”

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