Gibbs & Arbon rule MX Nats roost Gladstone

Monster Energy MX Nationals 2014 – Round Nine – Gladstone
South Aussies Gibbs and Arbon Rule The Roost At Gladstone MX Nats as Queensland’s Todd Breaks Through in MXD

MX Nationals Gladstone MX1 Podium — In what can only be described as perfect day for racing on a brilliantly prepared track, KTM Racing’s Kirk Gibbs put in two top three moto performances in the 2 x 30 minute format to walk away with the MX1 round win.

MX2 MX Nationals Gladstone Podium — Luke Arbon took the Gladstone MX2 MX Nationals Round Win

MXD MX Nationals Gladstone Podium — In the MXD class it was GYTR Yamaha’s Wilson Todd who stole the show, putting in two commanding rides to take the round win with a perfect 1-1 score card after working his way to the lead in both races.

The South Australian Duo Of Kirk Gibbs and Luke Arbon have once again made it an all South Aussie top step of the podium in their respective classes at the ninth round of the 2014 Monster Energy MX Nationals held at Gladstone, Qld.

In what can only be described as perfect day for racing on a brilliantly prepared track, KTM Racing’s Kirk Gibbs put in two top three moto performances in the 2 x 30 minute format to walk away with the MX1 round win.

The day started in great fashion with MX1 championship leader Motul Suzuki’s Matt Moss, edging out Gibbs in regular qualifying.

When Superpole got underway however it was CDR Yamaha’s Jacob Wright who continued on his top form after his maiden MX1 race win last time out at Raymond Terrace, taking the Superpole win for the second straight round, while both Moss and Gibbs both faltered, finishing the session in 4th and 5th spots.

In the opening race, CDR Yamaha’s Billy Mackenzie jumped out the the early lead ahead of Moss, with Wright in third.

Wright quickly made his way to the lead, and never let it slip going on to win his second race in as many tries.

Behind him, Gibbs worked his way into second position, with Matt Moss in third, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Adam Monea fourth while Mackenzie slipped back to fifth, with all riders holding those positions to race end, despite a fall for Gibbs.

In the second race it was Mackenzie who jumped out to another great start, however this time he was not going to let anyone bye taking a wire to wire win and doing enough to see him claim the third step of the podium.

The race for second position was a moto long battle between Gibbs and Monea, with Monea just holding out Gibbs as the duo literally went bar to bar though the final two turns.

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Behind them Matt Moss came through with a solid 4th place finish ahead of his twin brother Jake Moss aboard his NPS Monster Energy Kawasaki for 5th after finishing down the field in the opening moto after a big crash while coming through the field.

Wright came through for 6th after working his way through the field after a bad start.

At the end of the day the top five riders for the round were separated by just four points with the top four amazingly only separated by 2 points as Gibbs took a narrow round win by a single point.

“Yeah definitely there was some close racing out there today, though we are not much closer to Matt,” Gibbs said from the podium after only closing the gap to Moss by three points in the championship race.

“I didn’t leave anything behind today, I made a couple of little mistakes and hit the ground a couple of times.

“I was pushing, but I am glad I am up here with the number one plate and hopefully we can make something of it at Coolum.” Gibbs concluded.

Taking second place for the round was Mackenzie on the back of his final moto win, finishing the day one point behind Gibbs and one point ahead of Monea and Wright.

“This was one of the best prepared tracks we have had this season,” Mackenzie admitted. “It is probably not the best, we always need bit bigger jumps and stuff.

“In terms of preparation, the track turned out very technical and had all the riders on their game.

“To be honest I did not feel like I had a podium in me this morning, I was not gelling with the track, the bike was not working that well, but we made a few changes for the second race and we managed to take the win.”

For Monea it was his first trip back to the podium since round three at Wonthaggi, claiming the third step of the podium on count back over Wright.

“It has been a long time between drinks, the last time I was up on the podium was at Wonthaggi at my home round, though I had the number one plate so it was a bit better,” Monea commented at the end of the day’s proceedings.

“The track was brutal, it got real choppy and square edged. I think the whole filed come in in that second moto and were complaining of gut cramps, it was really harsh on the body.

“It was great to be out there and be part of the Jono Porter memorial race, to be up here for that is pretty great. He was pretty influential in the sport, and this event has been really good.

Wright held on to take fourth place for the round while championship points lead Matt Moss rounded out the top five.

“I felt good towards the start of the races today,” Matt Moss admitted. “I just faded a little bit. Jay (Foreman) has always said to me if your a fourth place guy come fourth!

“We done what we needed to do this weekend and I was not quite feeling up to it today, so I was not going to try to push to the front and crash and lose more points. We only lost three points today.

“Jono Porter was a fun bubbly guy and you had to love him and it is why everyone is out here supporting him and this event. I think about him a lot during the year, there is always something that comes up that has you thinking about him and I am sure he is looking down at us looking after us.

“He was a lovely guy and I spent a bit of time with him and it is good to see the turn out and all us guys supporting the event.”

In the MX2 class it was Luke Arbon he jumped out to the holeshot aboard his SD3 Husqvarna in both races.

In the opening race he battle for the lead early in the race with Penrite Oils Honda MX’s Josh Cachia, before pulling a small gap.

Serco Yamaha’s Jay Wilson caught and passed Arbon just after the halfway point in the moto with New Zealand’s Hamish Dobbyn doing like wise soon after.

Dobbyn then made a charge for Wilson in the final stages of the race, with the duo crossing the line wheel to wheel as Wilson held on for the win ahead of Dobbyn, while Arbon rode home to third.

The second moto was a different story for both Arbon and Wilson, with Arbon taking a wire to wire win, while Wilson crashed on the opening lap.

Wilson put in the ride of the day to come through the field and was on target to move into 5th place when he made a mistake and went down again, recovering for the 7th place finish.

Meanwhile, Championship leader Luke Clout raced to a second place moto finish aboard his Serco Yamaha, followed across the line by KTM’s Kale Makeham in 3rd backing up his 4th place result in race 1, while Dobbyn came home in 4th.

The round however belonged to Luke Arbon, who made it back to back wins after also taking the round win last time out at Raymond Terrace.

“I am stoked to be here racing my dirt bike and I am really enjoying it,” Arbon stated. “A massive thanks to everyone at SD3 Husqvarna for getting me out there, all our team sponsors, everyone that helps us out,

“I went through a few years where I was struggling and putting a little bit to much pressure on myself, I did a little bit of home work last year, sat the national scene out, then come back this year with the goal to just to have fun, go out do what I love to do and it seems to be working.”

Dobbyn finished on the second step of the podium, just ahead of Wilson in third. Makeham finished the round in 4th place, while clout like his MX1 championship leading counter part of Moss, finished the day in 5th place, but will carry a very handy 32 point lead into the final round next weekend.

“Not a bad day today,” Clout reflected, “I have a good lead heading into the last round and I am looking forward to getting to Coolum.”

In the MXD class it was GYTR Yamaha’s Wilson Todd who stole the show, putting in two commanding rides to take the round win with a perfect 1-1 score card after working his way to the lead in both races.

“It was great to get my first win in MXD in the first moto,” Todd enthused. “I went out in the second race to back it up and I was able to back it up.

“I can’t thank my team enough, along with my day.”

“Hopefully next weekend I can get another podium, that is the goal, we will see when we get there and hope for the best.”

Finishing in second place for the day and leaving the round with the Red plate and a 30 point championship lead is Factory Husqvarna’s Egan Mastin.

Mastin came into the round 8 points behind championship leader Jed Beaton who was unfortunately ruled out of the remaining two rounds after breaking his leg last weekend.

Mastin rode a smart calculated two moto’s finishing 2nd in the first race after his nearest rival in the championship at the time Nathan Crawford was forced out of the moto. Mastin then finished behind Todd and Crawford in race two for second place overall for the round.

“Today was all about having a good start, it was real rutty out there and line selection was really important,” Mastin explained.

“Overall it was not a bad day, everything went well.”

Jayden Rykers had a break out round at Gladstone, round, finishing the day on the third step of the podium, ahead of fourth placed Jack Simpson who moved into second place in the championship standings.