Features 5 May 2015

Catching Up: Kirk Gibbs

MX1 red plate holder speaks about his season so far.

If there’s one guy who’s dominating the topic of conversation in the MX Nationals pits at the moment, it’s KTM Motocross Racing Team’s Kirk Gibbs. The 26-year-old hosed everyone at the opening round at Horsham and has finished on the podium at all three rounds so far, carrying a 19-point lead over his teammate Luke Styke into next weekend’s fourth round at Murray Bridge. MotoOnline.com.au caught up with Gibbsy after he returned from a round of the South Australian state championships at Murray Bridge on the weekend to find out how everything’s shaping up for him.

Image: Jeff Crow.

Image: Jeff Crow.

Gibbsy, three rounds into the MX Nationals, how are you feeling?

Good! I feel like I’m in a really good place mentally at the moment. The last time I had a good off-season and entered a season injury-free was five or six years ago. Coming off last year, I feel we built a really solid base during the off-season and I’ve improved my starting technique, which has been a big help. The first round at Horsham couldn’t have gone any better and that put us on the front foot. Appin went OK, but a stupid mistake in the first moto cost me a bit and I went into damage control. Then in the second race I lost my rear brake five minutes in, so I just rode the best I could and finished second. Then at Broadford I went down in the first moto, then pushed too hard trying to make up lost ground and had a big crash all on my own. It could’ve been a big deal, that one, but I got out of it OK and finished seventh. I’ve got to be smarter with that sort of stuff and keep it on two wheels, but to bounce back and win the second race was what I needed.

Your year started pretty well with a solid pre-season in New Zealand. How much do you think that’s helped your campaign so far?

It’s helped a lot, for sure. The NZ series is a great build-up to the MX Nationals for us. It’s tough for us to go and race in a different environment with different time zones and tracks, but that’s the same as the Kiwis coming over here to race. There’s nothing like race time and the locals ride really well at home, so it’s a perfect build-up for us.

You’ve been on the podium at every round so far. Which round are you most happy with and why?

Horsham was unreal. I really think I believe in myself a lot more now and to come off a good off-season and take the double win was awesome. I knew my speed was good, but I was a little surprised with that result, to be honest. It’s not often you go 1-1 with such stiff competition, but it was one of those days where everything clicked. You learn to cherish those days as they don’t come around often. As a whole though, I feel I’ve been riding well. I’ve just got to eliminate the little crashes.

Obviously Mossy’s out of the championship hunt now. What happened in that first turn at Appin where you both went down?

That first turn was quite slippery. I got the holeshot and went into double left turn a bit hot and tucked the front by myself. I thought Matt came down with me, but I watched Jake Williams’ video and it looks like he tucked the front at the same time as I did. It’s possible that it’s partially my fault as he might’ve grabbed some extra front brake when he saw me going down, but we didn’t collide or anything. It’s just bad luck, really. It’s a bit disappointing that he and I can’t fight it out for the title this year. He was the best guy last season and it would’ve been good to earn the title by beating the defending champion, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.

Image: Jeff Crow.

Image: Jeff Crow.

We’re heading to the sand tracks of Murray Bridge and Coolum now. Which do you prefer?

I’m not too bothered, really. I grew up riding sand and enjoy it, but lately I’ve been riding hard-pack really well, so it’s much in muchness for me. We raced the state titles at Murray Bridge over the weekend and it was good to iron out the kinks before the nationals heads there next weekend. We were a little behind the eight-ball on Sunday and finished behind Adam Monea and Luke [Styke], but we’ve made a few changes to our bike set-up now and we’ll be ready to turn it around next time out.

What’s your race plan this year?

My aim is to finish on the podium at every round. It’s realistic and that crash I had in the first moto at Broadford made me realise that I don’t need to go out and win every race; I’ve just gotta be smart and be up there every time. Championships aren’t won laying on the ground and I think I’ll be smarter from here on out. That doesn’t mean I’m going to be conservative at all, but I’ll be doing whatever I can to be on the box.

Good plan, mate. Thanks for the chat!

Thanks mate. Speak to you soon.

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