KTM’s Gibbs wraps up 2015 Monster MX1 title with a race to spare
KTM Motocross Racing Team’s Kirk Gibbs collected his first ever Monster MX1 Championship win one race early today, wrapping up this year’s title in spectacular celebratory fashion.
With a heavy down pour overnight, the Monster MX1 class headed out onto the black sandy Coolum Pines circuit, with Gibbs ready to race for a championship today.
Holding an extensive 61-point lead on CDR Yamaha’s Kade Mosig, the KTM mounted ‘diesel’ engine of Gibbs headed into the warm up session, looking to loosen up before attempting to wrap up the championship in the first moto.
Despite NPS Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Dylan Long being fastest on track during warm up, the top five players from Saturday’s qualifying session lined up for GoPro SuperPole ready to collect further championships points ahead of moto one.
With CDR Yamaha’s Mosig opting to put down his quick lap last, KTM’s Luke Styke was first rider out of the GoPro arch for his hot lap. After Styke, Penrite Honda’s Ben Townley, KTM’s Gibbs, Kawasaki’s Monea, and Yamaha’s Mosig, put down their times, it was CDR’s Mosig who took the SuperPole win with a 1:46.035 lap time, and collected five additional championship points.
When the 450 machines lined up for moto one, Gibbs was armed with the knowledge that if Mosig won the first moto, that he would only need to finish 20th in order to wrap up the championship.
With that known, when the premier MX1 class rolled up to the grid, all eyes were on the number five KTM machine, and anticipation in awarding the 2015 title cranked up to a hole new level.
When bikes roared off the start line KTM’s Styke to the holeshot and the early race lead, with Gibbs slotting behind in second, and former world champion Townley in third.
After three laps the Monster MX1 class settled into their positions, with Styke leading the way for his teammate Gibbs, followed by Townley in third and CDR Yamaha’s Dan Reardon who settled into fourth.
At the halfway mark, the only position change was for fourth – with Mosig moving into the position, after teammate Reardon crashed, pushing him to the rear of the pack.
When the chequered flag flew, the top four riders switched positions, with Townley edging out Styke to take the race win, followed by KTM’s Gibbs in third.
Despite Townley’s win, the man of the moment was KTM’s Gibbs – third place in moto one being more than enough for him and the KTM Motocross Racing Team to deservingly wrap up the 2015 MX1 championship title after ten rounds.
With a new MX1 National Champion on the line, the MX1 class lined up for moto two, looking to decide the final championship podium positions.
With Penrite Honda Racing Team’s Cody Cooper taking the race two hole shot, crowds were shocked to see the New Zealander return to the front of the pack. With Cooper out in front the focus shifted to the battle for the remaining championship podium positions.
And it wasn’t long before CDR Yamaha’s Mosig made his presence known. As Mosig began to pressure Cooper for the lead, the Yamaha mounted rider stalled the bike, forcing him to lose vital positions and putting his second place in the MX1 championship in jeopardy.
As the MX1 class settled in to their finishing positions, Townley and Monea separated themselves from the field, and began their individual battles for the final race win.
When the chequered flag flew it was Monea who crossed the line victorious, followed by Townley in second and NPS Monster Energy Kawaski’s Long in third. With the championship well and truly already wrapped up, Gibbs raced to seventh place in moto two, enjoying a far more leisurely pace.
Monster Energy MX1 2015 Championship winner– Kirk Gibbs – KTM Motocross Racing Team – “It’s been such a long time coming, and it’s so hard to explain because you put so much time and effort into it, and this year has felt so long for me. I made sure a came out swinging this year, and had a really good pre season, and that showed at round one when I took 1-1 results. I just got some news that I’ll be racing the MXGP at Glen Helen in a couple of weeks so, I’m excited to chase over there and see what it’s all about. Getting this championship is really unexplainable. When I had that injury a little doubt did enter my head, but we fought through and I’m just so happy that I was able to get this done. It’s an amazing feeling and to win an Australian MX Nationals championship is a dream come true. I wouldn’t be here without the people who support me. It takes a massive team and it’s an amazing feeling having so many people believe in you, and I’m so happy to be able to finally repay them with a title.”
GoPro SuperPole Results
1) Kade Mosig 1:46.035
2) Kirk Gibbs 1:46.177
3) Adam Monea 1:46.213
4) Ben Townley 1:46.606
5) Luke Styke 1:47.939
Monster Energy MX1 round ten overall points
1) Ben Townley 67
2) Adam Monea 61
3) Luke Styke 58
4) Kirk Gibbs 54
5) Dylan Long 53
6) Kade Mosig 53
7) Lawson Bopping 52
8) Daniel Reardon 46
9) Hamish Harwood 44
10) Ross Beaton 39
Monster Energy MX1 championship
1) Kirk Gibbs 647
2) Kade Mosig 586
3 Adam Monea 577
4) Luke Styke 577
5) Lawson Bopping 523
6) Daniel Reardon 510
7) Dylan Long 497
8) Cody Cooper 425
9) Kale Makeham 347
10) Kale Makeham 382
JCR Yamaha’s Jay Wilson takes fairytale MX2 Championship win
JCR Yamaha’s Jay Wilson has finished his 2015 MX Nationals campaign on the highest of highs, racing to 1-1 finishes and collecting the Motul MX2 Championship win at the Coolum Pines Motocross track in Queensland today.
Despite wet conditions this morning for the final round of the MX Nationals, the Coolum circuit turned it up today, playing host to a championship deciding round for Wilson and the entire Motul MX2 class.
With the MX2 class being the second group of riders out on the track this morning, the 250 machines were treated surprisingly good conditions, shaking any rumours that Coolum would be under water.
When the MX2 class commenced their opening warm up session, it was JCR Yamaha’s Jay Wilson who was fastest on track, setting the bench mark for the day, that would lead him to a fairytale finish.
When bikes lined up for moto one, nervous energy flooded the start gate, with the Wilson and Serco Yamaha’s Clout separated by only 21 points, and vying for the 2015 MX2 championship.
When gates dropped it was the Newcastle KTM two stroke machine of Dylan Wills who once again took the holeshot and moved in to the early race lead, ahead of Wilson in second and Yamaha’s Kyle Webster in third.
After only one lap Wilson moved in to the race lead and began to separate himself from the rest of the MX2 field. With Wilson out in front, the battle commenced for second position, with Serco Yamaha’s Clout and Webster going head to head.
As moto one progressed, Wilson continued to maintain his race lead, with Clout beginning to chase down the red plate holder, ahead of GYTR Yamaha teammate Jed Beaton who made his was into third.
When the 30-minute race concluded it was JCR Yamaha’s Jay Wilson who crossed the line victorious, ahead of former teammate Clout, followed by Coolum local Nathan Crawford (Husqvarna) who put in a solid charge to conclude moto one in third.
With the win in moto one, Wilson looked to line up in moto two to wrap up his first ever MX2 championship.
As bikes headed to the start for race two, Wilson was armed with the knowledge that a 19th place would see him awarded the 2015 Motul MX2 Champion. With Clout taking the, holeshot and moving in to the race lead, Wilson slotted in behind Crawford in third.
As race two progressed, Clout, Crawford and Wilson all began to check out on the MX2 field, with only a bike length separating the hard charging trio.
However disaster struck Clout when he made a mistake in the final straight before the finish, going down and dropping significant positions, allowing Wilson to move in to the race lead, with Crawford following closely behind.
With Clout well and truly at the rear of the pack, the coast was clear for JCR’s Wilson to wrap up his 2015 championship campaign with another race win to his name.
When the chequered flag flew, Wilson celebrated across the line, taking the race two win ahead of Crawford and GYTR’s Beaton, ad wrapping up his first ever Motul MX2 championship win.
Motul MX2 2015 Championship winner – Jay Wilson– JCR Yamaha – “This feels unbelievable, we have worked so hard to get this win, and a lot of people didn’t believe in me at the end of last year. I have had Josh Coppins, my family, Mike Ward, Ray Howard and the top guys at Yamaha in my corner this year – they believed in me when no one else did. It has been a tough year, with my brother having that big crash at the start of the season, and honestly I was shattered, so to get this done for him too is pretty special. We’ve worked so hard, and to see it all pay off today is an absolute dream come true.”
Motul MX2 round ten overall points
1) Jay Wilson 70
2) Nathan Crawford 62
3) Jed Beaton 56
4) Caleb Ward 56
5) Luke Clout 50
6) Dean Porter 49
7) Geran Stapleton 48
8) Alex Morris 43
9) Ricky Latimer 42
10) Takeshi Katsuya 41
Motul MX2 championship
1) Jay Wilson 600
2) Luke Clout 559
3) Takeshi Katsuya 541
4) Jed Beaton 499
5) Caleb Ward 473
6) Nathan Crawford 456
7) Wade Hunter 447
8) Geran Stapleton 403
9) Dylan Wills 388
10) Jack Simpson 354
GYTR’s Todd snatches up Pirelli MXD title in Coolum
GYTR Yamaha’s Wilson Todd has wrapped up a hotly contested 2015 Pirelli MXD Championship, racing to 1-2 results at a sunshine drenched Coolum today.
After close to 70mls of rain at the Coolum Pines circuit overnight, when riders arrived for race day today, the Pirelli MXD class walked into the unknown. Despite the rain however, the sun was well and truly shining when bikes hit the track at 9am, setting the stage for what would be an epic day of racing for an MXD championship.
With series points leader and GYTR Yamaha’s Todd quickest on track during the Pirelli MXD warm up session, the young Queenslander set himself up perfectly for a day of success.
When bikes hit the track for moto one, the nervous buzz among the thousands of spectators could be felt within the pits.
When gates dropped it was the KTM machine of Jayden Rykers who took the first hole shot of the day, before GYTR Yamaha duo Mitch Evans and Todd settled into second and third positions.
With nothing to lose, Rykers went on to check out on the Pirelli MXD field, and take a commanding race lead, in a last ditch effort to catch series points leader Todd, and put in a final charge for the 2015 MXD Championship.
At the four lap mark, disaster struck Rykers, after going down and losing the race lead, allowing Todd to move into first position with teammate Evans following closely behind.
However, Rykers was determined not to give up, recovering to charge back to an impressive second place and began to chase down red plate holder Todd.
When the chequered flag flew, it was Todd’s consistency that put him in the perfect position to wrap up the 2015 championship. Taking the moto one win ahead of Rykers in second and Evans in third, Todd entered moto two with a comfortable 25-point championship lead.
As the Under 19’s class headed to the line for the final moto for 2015, Todd looked surprisingly relaxed as he looked to wrap up his 2015 championship.
When bikes launched off the start Rykers once again took the holeshot and moved into the early race lead. With series leader Todd buried deep in the pack, the coast was clear for Rykers to take a commanding race lead.
However it wasn’t long before Rykers was in trouble once again. After making a mistake Rykers dropped back to third allowing GYTR’s Mitch Evans to move into the lead ahead of Yamaha mounted Toby Stevens.
As riders settled in to their positions, Rykers once again moved back in to the race lead, ahead of Evans, with the man of the moment Todd back in fifth position.
When the chequered flag flew for the final time, it was hard charging GYTR rider Evans who took the race two win ahead of Todd in second and Coxon in third.
But the man who had the whole crowd on their feet celebrating was that of Todd, who raced to second place, and clinching his first ever Pirelli MXD title.
Pirelli MXD 2015 Championship Winner – Wilson Todd– GYTR Yamaha – “I’m super pumped to get this championship win. I came into the season with a lot of injuries and I just stepped it up as we went on. I have to thank the Beaton family so much, without them this really wouldn’t have been possible, so it’s nice to reward them with this title after everything they have done. The whole GYTR Yamaha team have put in so much effort this year, so to finish up today with a championship is pretty special. I go in for knee surgery tomorrow morning, so I won’t be able to race Supercross, but to finish up the MX Nationals with the MXD title is awesome – I’m pumped.”
Pirelli MXD round ten overall results
1) Wilson Todd 67
2) Mitchell Evans 65
3) Toby Stevens 56
4) Bailey Coxon 55
5) Jesse Madden 52
6) Connor Tierney 47
7) Jaiden Corrigan 47
8) Trent Wheatley 42
9) Travis Silk 39
10) Luke Abela 39
Pirelli MXD championship
1) Wilson Todd 585
2) Jayden Rykers 528
3) Connor Tierney 518
4) Jesse Madden 488
5) Bailey Coxon 448
6) Kaleb Barham 353
7) Jordan Hill 352
8) Lachlan Davis 349
9) Toby Stevens 333
10) Jaiden Corrigan 310
