Kirk Gibbs charged to a second place finish at round six of the MX Nationals, highlighted with a race win, on the rolling grass fields of the MX Farm, in Gympie, Queensland.
In a beautiful natural amphitheatre just 15 minutes north of the country town, the MX Nationals roared to life on a challenging track that featured plenty of turns, jumps and intense racing.
Gibbs showed he was back to full fitness after a shoulder injury slowed him at rounds four and five of the championship as he raced to 3-1 results in the two motos ran on the day to give him second place overall.
He started well in the first race but fell out of rhythm in the mid stages of the race and lost a few positions and was on the verge of dropping outside the top five but he collected his thoughts, refocused back on the track and began to peg back to the time he lost earlier.
He relentlessly worked his way back to the rear tyre of his team mate, Luke Clout, in third place before making the pass on the final lap and left the circuit confident he could run up the front in the second race.
A top four start had Gibbs well placed for race two but the more the race went on, the better Gibbs got. On lap four, he moved to third. Lap nine saw him moved to second, then on lap 11 he took control of the race but the fight continued all the way to race end.
Gibbs, Todd Waters, Hayden Mellross and Brett Metcalfe engaged in an all out battle that saw Gibbs take the win by just over half a second and the top four separated by just three seconds.
“It was good to get things back on track and finish up with a good result here,” Gibbs said. “More importantly, the way I rode was what mattered and to be able to pass all the guys at the head of the championship and take the moto win means more to me than finishing on the podium for the day.
“I just need to focus on the way I ride and doing my best laps and the results will continue to flow for the rest of the season.
“Thanks to the CDR Yamaha Monster Energy Team who always put in 100% and its nice to reward everyone on the team and our supporters a podium this weekend.”
Luke Clout entered the sixth round with the points leaders red plate but faced a few issues during the day that saw him finish off the podium in fifth place. Despite the tough day, Clout now sits second in the series, just three points away from leader, Todd Waters.
Clout finished with 4-7 results but admits it wasn’t his day. Moto one saw Clout get ran down late by team mate Kirk Gibbs as he struggled to flow around the technical track.
A fall on the opening lap of race two had Clout behind the eight ball right from the get go. He was in 20th place as the field rushed by at the end of lap one. He kept his head down for the full 30 minutes and was able to race through to seventh by race end.
“It wasn’t a great day and I didn’t ride my best, but I was able to salvage what I could and I’m still only three points from the lead in the championship. There are only five points between three of us in the championship and now it comes down to not making any mistakes and keep putting myself in good position to win races and rounds.
“Next round is at Maitland, a track that I have raced at a few times and enjoy riding so I will put this one behind me, focus forward for the next round and get things back on track there,” Clout said.
MX1 Results
1st Todd Waters – 67
2nd Kirk Gibbs – 65 (CDR Yamaha Monster Energy Team)
3rd Brett Metcalfe – 60
4th Hayden Mellross – 56
5th Luke Clout – 52 (CDR Yamaha Monster Energy Team)
6th Jesse Dobson – 51
7th Jayden Rykers – 46
8th Caleb Ward – 46
9th Richie Evans – 43
10th Dylan Long – 42
MX1 Championship Standings
1st Todd Waters – 332
2nd Luke Clout – 329 (Yamaha YZ450F)
3rd Hayden Mellross – 327
4th Jayden Rykers – 253
5th Justin Rodbell – 248
6th Kirk Gibbs – 245 (Yamaha YZ450F)
7th Brett Metcalfe – 241
8th Jesse Dobson – 227
9th Richie Evans – 217 (Yamaha YZ450F)
10th Erki Kahro-190