KTM Australia press release:

KTM Motocross Racing Team rider Kirk Gibbs has rebounded from last October’s serious injury to begin his MX Nationals title defence with a share of the top points, as the sport’s premier series kicked off today at Horsham in Victoria.

Overlooked slightly in the pre-series hype before what is expected to be one of the most competitive MX Nationals seasons ever, the number one plate holder proved that the class and work ethic of a champion will take a rider a long way, even when the chips are down.

Gibbs burst out of the blocks setting the fastest qualifying time, but a mistake in SuperPole dropped him to third pick of the grid, before he went on to take two second-place finishes, the first behind Dean Ferris, and the second to Matt Moss, who claimed the day’s overall victory.

With his SuperPole point added, Gibbs left Horsham with 65 championship points, equal to Moss.

Nineteen-year-old Queenslander Jesse Dobson made a good fist of his whirlwind promotion to the KTM factory team to replace injured MX1 rider Luke Styke, coming away with a top-10 finish despite having just three decent acclimatisation rides before the series kickoff.

Despite a couple of falls during the day, Dobson walked away with tenth and eighth place finishes to lay an impressively consistent platform for his year, despite the very barest of preparation time on the mighty KTM 450 SX-F.

Kyle Blunden, KTM Motocross Team Manager – “We had a great first round. Kirk probably surprised us with just how competitive he was. In a short amount of time Danny (Apro – Suspension Technician) has done great work with suspension testing, and the work Kirk himself has done has really paid off. Jesse’s realistically ridden his bike three times before the round, so to come away healthy and with decent points, he’s got a fantastic foundation to build on for Appin. Caleb we all know is fast but we didn’t necessarily expect him to do what he’s done here. He’s done a great job. For him it’s a matter of trying to improve every single round. He is in a very competitive class so there will be no opportunity to relax. A big thanks to Jordan and to Jesse who have worked their backsides off getting ready for this. It makes the job a lot easier when you’ve got guys who are just super passionate about going to the races.”

Kirk Gibbs (KTM 450 SX-F) – “I surprised myself to tell you the truth, I didn’t think I was actually going to be that competitive. I’m really happy. My starts weren’t too bad but I feel like I can get them better, and I wasn’t strong for the whole 30 minutes in that first moto. In the second I didn’t get through my first couple of laps the cleanest and got passed by a couple of people, but it’s all a work in progress. There’s probably five or six guys that are really on pace at the moment, so I feel like it’s going to be a great year. Maybe there were first round jitters for a couple of people, so it worked out better for some than it did for others. I’m just happy to come away tied for the lead.”

Jesse Dobson (KTM 450 SX-F) – “On paper my day doesn’t look that great but with the circumstances we had with the late call up and a couple of crashes I had from putting myself in bad situations, I was right in the mix. I just need to get a good start. We’re all so close out there at the moment that if I put myself in a good place, it will be sweet and I’ll be right up the front pushing for that podium. I wasn’t happy with the result today but I was happy with the fact that, in a short amount of time we were able to show the speed and fitness to be up front and be a top guy. I get on with the team really well – I have since Supercross. Everything falls into place like clockwork; they really know what they’re doing. It makes it a lot easier myself and I can’t thank the whole team enough for that.”

In MX2 racing, KTM Motocross Racing Team rider Caleb Ward won the opening round of the MX2 championship by the barest of margins, a single point over Jake Moss and Husqvarna’s Nathan Crawford.

Ward convincingly won the first moto by over eight seconds, then recovered from a terrible start in the second after he was caught up with backmarkers, before clawing his way back for fifth and the victory on the day.

In what is a highly competitive class, KTM Factory Support rider Jayden Rykers (Davey Motorsport) proved himself to be instantly on the pace on his MX2 debut, posting fourth and tenth place finishes for seventh on the day.

New Zealand champion Hamish Harwood was 9th overall with 13, 6 results, while Raceline Pirelli KTM Motocross Racing Team development rider Dylan Wills was 13th overall, courtesy of 9, 15 results.

Caleb Ward (KTM 250 SX-F) – “I felt pretty good today, the lot of us out there, obviously the first Moto went to plan and I got out front and do my own thing, sort of cruised, and then, second moto I stuffed up in a little drop off straight after the gate, and I was 20th or 30th around the first corner. I made my way through the pack slowly, and came back to fifth in that one. Obviously that was good enough for the overall so I’m still pretty happy with that. The new team is pretty cool, pretty relaxed, and there are more guys to give you advice or feedback on lines and that sort of thing, so it works out well.

Jayden Rykers (KTM 250 SX) – “I’m pretty happy with seventh overall after my second moto result. In the second one I just didn’t get the start I got in the first one, and I was battling with Caleb Ward and Hamish Harwood and I passed Caleb and went around Harwood and I washed my front end and that was that. For sure I know I am at the level that the leaders are at, to win races and fight for championships. It’s just a matter of putting it all together, and being consistent. I know my speed is there. The intensity is higher in MX2 and there are more people at the same speed, so it’s hard to play catch up if you’re back a little bit.”

In the MXD class, Cooper Pozniak (KTM Newcastle) got away to an absolute blinder on his senior debut, the 17-year-old posting a pair of third places to finish second on the day behind Husqvarna’s Connor Tierney. Another debutant, Raceline Pirelli KTM Motocross Racing Team development rider Wade Kirkland was fourth on the day – just a single point away from a podium finish – after posting sixth and second place finishes.

Cooper Pozniak (KTM 250 SX-F) – “It’s awesome. I’m so pumped that I got second overall. I went there aiming for top 10 overall and came second. The bike’s working really good and I’ve finally got the suspension how I like it. It’s awesome! The level is so much different compared to what I’m used to. The tracks are just so much rougher and ruttier – it’s good! And there are a lot more faster boys in this class.”

Wade Kirkland (KTM 250 SX-F) – “It was pretty solid for my first MXD race, I just missed out on a podium by a point. The first moto I got closed in and had a bad start, then crashed in the first turn so I ended up second last or something and a bit of arm pump kicked in, so I cruised around and kept on riding laps. The second one was good, I got the holeshot, led the pack for a couple of laps, fell back to second and then finished it strong. It’s a pretty quick class, there’s like about 10 fast riders, so I’ll have to keep being consistent. But I enjoyed it.”

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