Image: Jeff Crow.

The return of KTM Australia’s factory team to the MX2 class in 2016 comes as a dream come true for teenager Caleb Ward, signed up alongside MX1 regulars Kirk Gibbs and Luke Styke for next year.

MotoOnline.com.au broke the news last week that 18-year-old North Queenslander Ward has been signed by the KTM Motocross Racing Team to race a 250 SX-F as part of the official in-house program.

“This is something I’ve dreamt of since I was a little fella, riding KTM 50s and 65s and stuff,” Ward commented. “It’s always been the dream to be on the KTM team, I’ve always looked up to the guys that were on the team like Todd Waters, who grew up near me, and he was on the team so it’s been one of my goals for a long, long time.

“So to finally be on the team is pretty cool, that’s for sure. Danny [Apro] and Rob [Twyerould] and everyone they really helped Todd out a whole heap, and I think everyone who’s been on the team, like Gibbsy, Styke, everyone seems to go there and really progress a lot. I think it will definitely help me out a whole heap and I should learn heaps.

Ward finished fifth in this year’s MX2 standings despite missing early rounds of the season with a knee injury, before returning to a four-round winning streak between Murray Bridge and Shepparton.

“Hopefully I’ll put all the pieces together and get a championship next year,” he added. “I‘ll have access to a whole lot more different parts and a lot more time for testing – it will all make a huge difference I think. The bike will be amazing, obviously I haven’t ridden a full factory bike before, but there’s so many more different parts and things that’ll be on it.

“That it will make a massive difference, so I’m really, really keen to get on the bike. The 2016 models are meant to be really awesome just from standard, so I think with all the bits and pieces on it will be amazing!

“Next year I’d really like to try to win the championship and get a ride in either Europe or America, but if I can’t do that, I’d really like to stay in Australia for another year and move up to the MX1 class, stay with the KTM team and try to get a title on the 450s.

“I think the KTM team in Australia is obviously the best stepping-stone to getting over there as well. I think I will learn heaps and heaps next year, it will be a really good experience for me and really improve me as a rider.”

Twyerould welcomed Ward to the team, while further confirming that Gibbs will defend his national MX1 crown alongside Styke on the factory 450 SX-Fs in the 2016 season.

“Caleb will be the third rider on the in-house team,” he explained. “It’s a full factory MX2 ride and we’ll be preparing his bikes and hopefully taking him to the next level. We will bring a lot of expertise, particularly with his bike, although his bike this year was very good.

“It’s a more personalised sort of environment, so he will have a dedicated mechanic and hopefully draw on Luke and Kirk as well to help him with his riding and his approach to racing and really aim to have a good shot at the championship next year.

“He is only 18, but it already showed this year that he is incredibly competitive and I really think he is a future talent. I really like his riding style and his attitude. He rides on the balls of his feet, has really good throttle control, and he rides the bike in the torque, rather than over-revving it. The only thing we’ve got to work on is his starts, which are inconsistent.

“I also like the fact that everyone considered him a sand rider, but he was so determined to also go well in the hard-pack. He just concentrated on that and proved this year that he can ride both surfaces. He has high expectations of himself and he has a goal to ultimately race in the world championships.”

Ward will continue to race in his current satellite structure throughout the upcoming 2015 Australian Supercross Championship.