KTM’s Kirk Gibbs too good at Raymond Terrace MX Nationals
Images by Jeff Crow
KTM Motocross Racing’s Kirk Gibbs, has once again found himself on the top step of the MX1 podium, at round six of the MX Nationals in Raymond Terrace, NSW.
With Team Motul Suzuki’s Matt Moss rumored to be back to winning form, all eyes were on the likes of Moss and Gibbs, who were set to treat the hundreds of spectators to a day of exciting racing!
In moto one, red plate holder KTM’s Gibbs snatched the holeshot from Team Motul Suzuki’s Moss by the narrowest of margins, however Moss having found his confidence once again, he applied the pressure and challenged for the race lead.
With Gibbs, Moss and CDR Yamaha’s Dan Reardon then holding first, second, and third positions respectively, the trio stuck together for a good part of the moto before Reardon went down, which was followed by Moss claiming the race lead from Gibbs.
With a new race leader, the focus shifted to the fight for third place between Luke Styke (KTM) and CDR Yamaha’s Kade Mosig. Despite Mosig pressuring Styke in the later stages of the moto, Styke proved he has what it takes to secure another podium finish – crossing the line in third behind teammate Gibbs, while Moss celebrated his returned form with the opening race win.
In race two of the day, KTM mounted Luke Styke launched off the start and claimed the holeshot ahead of Moss, however it was teammate Kirk Gibbs who became his biggest threat.
While Styke lead for a portion of the moto ahead of Moss and Reardon, Gibbs once again proved that he is a force to be reckoned with.
By the 20-minute mark, the top five riders being, Gibbs, Styke, Reardon, Monea and Moss were separated by nothing more than a few bike lengths, making the final moto the most thrilling of the day.
When the chequered flag flew, Gibbs crossed the line first ahead of teammate Styke, followed by Reardon, who held off the likes of Moss and Monea to claim third.
By the conclusion of the round, KTM once again took two positions on the podium, with Gibbs claiming the round six overall ahead of Team Motul Suzuki’s Moss in second, and Styke who completed the podium in third.
Kirk Gibbs 1st – “It was a good day, like I said beforehand, Raymond Terrace hasn’t been the best for me, so to turn it around and have some good luck is a bit of a weight off my shoulders to finally get a win here. First moto I pulled a ripper start, but I just struggled a little bit and just didn’t feel 100% confident in the bike, so after that first moto I sat down with a team, Danny did some changes to the suspension and we went 100% in the right direction. It was such a blessing to ride in that second moto. I just had a lot of fun, I was third with a start, and Reardon got past me in the first couple of laps while I was gelling with the bike, and then I started ticking off laps and went into the lead.”
Luke Styke 3rd – “It was a good weekend, I feel like it was a good rebound from the last two rounds before the break. I found a bit of form towards the end of that first race and put a good charge in, I had good pace and it was a good feeling to catch Mossy and Gibbsy up front. That last Moto I got the holeshot and that helps, you know? It’s not real nice getting 450 roost in the face, so that made my race a lot easier. But I made a little mistake over the back of the track and Gibbs snuck up the inside of me. He’s riding good at the moment, so it was good to have a battle with him and have similar pace.”
Rob Twyerould, KTM Motocross Racing Team Manager – “To extend the lead in the championship and for Luke pull out a lead on third place has been brilliant. Gibbsy got an absolute killer start in the first moto but he was fighting the bike a little bit, had a couple of moments, but after Danny (Apro – KTM Crew Chief) made a few changes between motos, he said it ran like a dream. Stykesy rode fantastic, he got through to third and was challenged all the way to the line by Mosig, but then in the second he shot out of the start and took off. It took 5 or 10 minutes for Gibbsy’s diesel to warm up and then he closed the gap to Luke and when Luke made a small mistake, Gibbsy got round. This round hasn’t always been the best for us, but we’ve broken that monkey well and truly today with both the boys on the podium, it was fantastic. Again it was a huge effort from everyone in the team; Gary, Kyle, Jordan, Johnny, it’s been a real busy couple of weeks getting ready.”
Jesse Dobson – Husqvarna – 9th – “Not real pumped on today. In moto one I had a bit of a wild ride through the whoops on the first lap and crashed to be dead last – like …I couldn’t get any more last than I was. I ended up coming through the pack to 11th. I felt like I rode good, but I probably should have been a bit more decisive with some of my passing which left me short time to get inside the top 10. In the second moto and okay start, passed a few guys and sat around seventh, but I ended up dropping down the bottom, just a silly mistake when the rut kind of blew out a little bit and spun me wide. We ended up eighth in that second moto, but it just wasn’t the result is that I wanted.”
Monster Energy MX1 round six overall points – Raymond Terrace MX Nationals
1) Kirk Gibbs 67
2) Matt Moss 63
3) Luke Styke 62
4) Daniel Reardon 52
5) Adam Monea 51
6) Dylan Long 50
7) Kade Mosig 49
8) Cody Cooper 48
9) Jesse Dobson 43
10) Ford Dale 43
Monster Energy MX1 championship points – Raymond Terrace MX Nationals
1) Kirk Gibbs 411
2) Luke Styke 351
3) Adam Monea 334
4) Kade Mosig 331
5) Lawson Bopping 320
6) Daniel Reardon 286
7) Dylan Long 284
8) Jesse Dobson 283
9) Cody Cooper 267
10) Kale Makeham 221
Caleb Ward takes third consecutive win – Raymond Terrace MX Nationals
KTM Australia’s Caleb Ward has claimed his third consecutive overall win, while JCR Yamaha’s Jay Wilson has secured the red plate for the first time this season, at round six of the MX Nationals in Raymond Terrace today.
With the round marking the return to the MX Nationals from the mid-season break, the MX2 class basically started fresh, with only five points separating series leader Luke Clout (Serco Yamaha) from his nearest competitors.
Before moto one had even started, Clout was forced in to panic mode, suffering a rear break issue on the start line and unable to switch bikes. With the red plate holder in trouble, the door was left wide open for JCR Yamaha’s Wilson to seize the opportunity and take control of the championship.
Despite Geran Stapleton claiming the hole shot in moto one, it was local Newcastle KTM rider Dylan Wills who proved to be the star of the show. After taking the early lead, Wills fought off fellow KTM mounted Ward and Wilson, to eventually claim a career first race win on home turf, ahead of the pair respectively.
With Clout crossing the line in seventh position, JCR Yamaha’s Wilson became the new Motul MX2 Championship leader by a single point, and with another race for the day still remaining.
In moto two, it was all about Ward. After narrowly missing the hole shot, Ward went on to launch himself into the race lead, managing to hold the number one position for the entire race.
With Ward checked out, the focus was on the battle behind him. JCR Yamaha’s Wilson managing to execute passes on Nick Sutherland, and Luke Arbon to eventually settle in to second position for the remainder of the moto.
When race two concluded, it was Ward who claimed a commanding race win, with Wilson crossing the line in second and Serco Yamaha’s Jed Beaton finishing in third.
With results across the board thrown in to disarray, the round six Motul MX2 podium saw Ward on top, followed by new series leader Jay Wilson in second, while third place was awarded to local rider Dylan Wills who finished moto two in 13th.
Caleb Ward– “It was a good day, I got a reasonable start and I knew it was a 30-minute so I didn’t panic and just made my way through. Dylan had about seven seconds on me and was riding really well – but I made a few little mistakes at the end and he managed to get the win. I actually hit neutral in one of the corners at the end and tipped over, so that was one of those random things but second was still decent. Race two I got a perfect start and pretty much checked out, and just kept pulling away every lap. Last year I copped it a little bit for riding the two-stroke and winning in the sand, so it’s good to come down here on a 4-stroke and win on hard pack.”
Motul MX2 round six overall points – Raymond Terrace MX Nationals
1) Caleb Ward 67
2) Jay Wilson 62
3) Dylan Wills 53
4) Luke Clout 52
5) Luke Arbon 51
6) Jed Beaton 50
7) Joel Wightman 47
8) Wade Hunter 42
9) Takeshi Katsuya 42
10) Matt Ryan 41
Motul MX2 championship standings – Raymond Terrace MX Nationals
1) Jay Wilson 343
2) Luke Clout 338
3) Takeshi Katsuya 323
4) Jed Beaton 300
5) Wade Hunter 288
6) Luke Arbon 279
7) Caleb Ward 249
8) Geran Stapleton 243
9) Nathan Crawford 234
10) Hamish Harwood 225
GYTR Yamaha’s Wilson Todd extends MXD lead after successful round six
Red plate holder Wilson Todd (GYTR Yamaha) returned to winning form again this weekend, fighting off Husqvarna’s Connor Tierney for the Pirelli MXD round six overall at Raymond Terrace.
After Tierney dominated prior to the mid-season break, Todd seized the opportunity to bring his season back to life today – recording impressive results and making up further points in his hunt for an MXD championship.
In race one, Todd snatched the holeshot before running away with the race lead, leaving his competition behind him. With Todd checking out, KTM mounted Jayden Rykers and Tierney went to battle for second position. However, by the time the chequered flag flew it was Todd who took the race win ahead of Rykers and freshly returned Mitchell Evans (GYTR Yamaha) who claimed an impressive third place. Teirney concluded race one in fourth.
After a less than desirable result in race one, Tierney entered the second moto looking to turn things around. After taking an early lead, Teirney appeared not to be threatened, with the majority of the battles happening behind him.
However with Todd hot on his tail, the two went head to head for the final two laps – Teirney only narrowly holding off the Yamaha freight train to take the final race win ahead of Todd, followed by Evans who took a consecutive third place for the day.
At the conclusion of racing, the Pirelli MXD podium was owned by Husqvarna and Yamaha. Todd taking the round six overall win ahead of Tierney, followed by Evans who completed the podium with third.
Wilson Todd 1st – Today I started to feel and ride the way I know I should. During the break in the championship, I worked hard on my riding and then just last week I did plenty of testing with the team and we made some good improvements to the bike so it was nice to get a good result here and reassure that we are headed in the right direction. The next round is at Shepparton which is a track I have never raced at before, so I’m looking forward to racing.”
Connor Tierney 2nd – “I didn’t lose too many points to the leader so I’m happy with that. It’s all about consistency and we’ve still got another four rounds. I think in the first one I was thinking about the points and the championship a little bit, more than just riding and having fun and I pumped up a little bit. You have shit races sometimes. I came back in and talked to Craig and Katrina and they told me to stop worrying, go out and have fun. I went back out, didn’t think about anything else, rode 20 times better and got the win.”
Jayden Rykers – 3rd – “It was a bad day, for me. That first moto I got a good start and made my way up to third, passed second and was catching the leader by half a second lap, but I into this real muddy corner and ended up tucking the front and going down. I picked it back up and got around a few more guys and end up finishing second, then in the last one I was in fourth and I just made silly mistakes. I stalled it, and then tucked the front end again, so I gave away 14 seconds and by the time I got myself together it was just too late.
Pirelli MXD round six overall results – Raymond Terrace MX Nationals
1) Wilson Todd 67
2) Connor Tierney 63
3) Mitchell Evans 60
4) Jayden Rykers 60
5) Toby Stevens 51
6) Jordan Hill 51
7) Bailey Coxon 43
8) Jesse Madden 41
9) Lachlan Davis 40
10) Blake Parker 38
Pirelli MXD championship points – Raymond Terrace MX Nationals
1) Wilson Todd 329
2) Connor Tierney 319
3) Jayden Rykers 293
4) Jesse Madden 282
5) Bailey Coxon 261
6) Jonte Reynders 222
7) Wayde Carter 213
8) Jordan Hill 212
9) Lachlan Davis 210
10) Kaleb Barham 204
KTM Australian Amateur Cup
The first round of the KTM Australian Amateur Cup was hosted at Raymond Terrace yesterday, allowing riders the opportunity to race for their own individual championships alongside the MX Nationals.
With a track to tackle that challenged the best athletes in the country, the amateurs of the MX Nationals went head to head over two races, with KTM eventually finishing the day on top.
KTM mounted Mitchell Bowen took the clean sweep in both motos. Finishing race one in first, with Mitchell Moylan (Suzuki) and fellow KTM rider Elias Dukes claiming third.
In race two, local Bowen once again took a comfortable race win, with the help of a screaming cheer squad to get him through the grueling 15 minutes. Second place was claimed by Dukes, while Moylan took the chequered flag in third.
At the conclusion of round one of the Cup, Bowen deservedly took the round overall, ahead of Dukes in second and Moylan who completed the podium in third.
KTM Australian Amateur Cup round one overall winner – Mitchell Bowen – “I was pretty tired in the second race, the roost hurt that bad. I was swallowing it, I was eating it and I just thought it would be easier to punt the guys out of the road (laughs). I blew the fuse in the headlight in the 500 so I couldn’t turn it on today, but I could have put the rego plate on it and rode it home if I wanted to. She held up good today. It was a lot of fun, you don’t see a lot of this at a National motocross, so I might have to come and do another one, this one was certainly pretty fun.”
KTM Australian Amateur Cup round one overall results and championship standings – Raymond Terrace MX Nationals
1) Mitchell Bowen 70
2) Elias Dukes 62
3) Mitchell Moylan 62
4) John Prutti 56
5) Zac Williams 48
6) Scott Abigail 48
7) Joshua Roche 47
8) Daniel Middleton 43
9) Aaron Parker 43
10) Brodie Davidson 43
MX Nationals 2015 Calendar
- Rd1 Horsham, VIC 29 March
- Rd2 Appin, NSW 12 April
- Rd3 Broadford, VIC 26 April
- Rd4 Murray Bridge, SA 17 May
- Rd5 Coolum, QLD 31 May
- Rd6 Raymond Terrace, NSW 5 July
- Rd7 Shepparton, VIC 19 July
- Rd8 Nowra, NSW 2 August
- Rd9 Toowoomba, QLD 23 August
- Rd10 Coolum, QLD 30 August
