Image: Foremost Media.

A decade on from clinching the Australian MX1 Championship in 2015, Kirk Gibbs has announced that he will formally retire from ProMX competition following this weekend’s final round of the 2025 season at Queensland Moto Park.

The 36-year-old has been a mainstay at the national level since debuting in 2006, when the then South Australian teenager chased the professional motocross dream after exiting the junior ranks.

It wasn’t until a full-time opportunity presented itself with Serco Yamaha in 2009, however, that he realised that racing would be a viable career. Following over 20 years as a pro, underlined by his MX1 crown along with representing Team Australia at the Motocross of Nations (MXoN) on two occasions – once in 2017 at Matterly Basin and then the following year at RedBud – Gibbs has made the decision to call time on his career.

“It feels like an eternity since I joined professional racing, although at the same time being so focused on one goal year after year makes it also feel shorter in a way,” reflected Gibbs. “Saying that it’s been 20 years of professional racing is crazy to me, but I’m so grateful and thankful to have had the career that I have had.

“I was a bit of a late bloomer as a junior, so it was hard to imagine this transitioning into a full-time career at the time – then to have won the 2015 MX1 title and represent Australia at the Motocross of Nations (MXoN) twice is pretty special. Being part of the KTM Racing Team for most of my 450 career has been awesome, and really, it has just felt like home.

“We clicked from the get-go, and then to win the championship in ’15 – we were just in the sweet spot. Everything came easily to me and, together as a team, we had so much confidence – they were definitely my glory years. I can’t thank everyone enough because, like I said, I’m really grateful and fortunate for the career I have had. I’m looking forward to putting my best foot forward at QMP this weekend, as well as absorbing the moment.”

As part of the KTM Racing Team – his third term with the factory organisation that he won the title with 10 years prior – Gibbs currently sits sixth overall in this year’s ProMX championship, targeting a strong finish to a storied career in Queensland this weekend.