It was a strong weekend for the KTM Motocross Racing Team at Appin‰Ûªs second round of the 2018 MX Nationals in New South Wales today, as MX1 class contenders Kirk Gibbs and Luke Clout finished second and third respectively, while defending champion Egan Mastin collected sixth overall in MX2.
Gibbs and Clout qualified for the Super Pole session, setting the second and fourth fastest times aboard their KTM 450 SX-F machines. In race one, Gibbs latched onto the lead pack, never giving up as he put a last corner pass to snatch second position by a mere 0.007s.
Gibbs also put on a strong showing in the final outing, overcoming a mistake to ultimately wind up fourth and, as a result, he still holds second in the standings, while Clout has been promoted to third.
‰ÛÏI‰Ûªm disappointed in some ways because I just feel a lot more confident and happy with the way I‰Ûªm riding, so that‰Ûªs why I think it hurts even more to finish second now." Gibbs commented. "Everything‰Ûªs clicking and I‰Ûªm in the right position to win, but it‰Ûªs just not happening for me.
"I started off the day well, in the first moto I was sitting around fourth, got into third and put on a hard charge for second. That second moto I was just sitting there, I didn‰Ûªt really feel anyone flicked the switch and took off, so I slowly started to chip away at them and made a little mistake, went down and that‰Ûªs all she wrote. It‰Ûªs frustrating that a little mistake rewrites the whole day.
"Second overall is still good, but the points deficit is getting bigger and you don‰Ûªt really want to give too much of a buffer at this point of the year.‰Û
