Kirk Gibbs has his sights set on the top five finishes as he prepares to enter his rookie year in the premier MX1 class as part of KTM’s all-new factory effort for 2013.

The South Australian says he does not want to put a large amount of pressure on himself, knowing the stiff competition he will face, which includes his 2013 teammate, Todd Waters.

“I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself, I know it’s my first year and I know there is a lot of guys stepping up to 450s,” Gibbs said. “Obviously with Matt [Moss] and stuff coming back, it’s definitely tough competition and there is a lot of people in there.

“So I’m not going to put too much pressure on myself, but I know I can do well and I know I ride the 450 well. As long as I can get starts and stuff, I think I can run top five.”

After spending a large amount of time off the bike due to his crash at Coolum’s season finale of the 2012 motocross season, Gibbs says he feels comfortable on the KTM with the limited amount of seat time he has had at this point.

“I really like the bike already,” he continued. “To start with I was a little bit rusty as it was, I hadn’t been on the bike for four months, so it took a little bit to get into it with all fresh gear as well, boots and everything.

“So it took a little bit to get into it, but I think I found my seat pretty well by the end of the day and I felt pretty good on the bike. We spent probably a good three or four hours on the bike, which was good.”

Click here to view the complete interview with Gibbs, and stay tuned for an official announcement from KTM regarding their 2013 program in the coming weeks.