Motocross

Kirk Gibbs Continues to Build Confidence With Steady Performance in Tokoroa

Posted:

Tuesday, February 25th, 2014

11:27 AM

Kirk Gibbs took another step towards his goal of being 100% ready for the opening round of the 2014 Monster Energy MX Nationals with a solid fourth place finish at the second round of the Backflips New Zealand motocross Championshps held at Tokoroa on Sunday.

The South Australian finished behind round winner and current New Zealander MX1 champion Cody Cooper, second placed Brad Groombridge and Scotsman Billy Mackenzie who rounded out the podium.

Gibbs struggled with a mix of bad starts and some small crashes throughout the day on his way to posting 4-3-4 results, though feels as though his form is heading in the right direction after being side-lining for the last few months of 2013 after crashing out of the Australian Supercross Championship.

‰ÛÏMy day was alright, the track was pretty wild and I'm pretty pumped to be leaving here still healthy and still building towards the big picture." Gibbs stated. "It looked really good in the morning but all the soft layering gets pushed into one line and then it‰Ûªs hard to stay out of the soft stuff which is so slippery.

"The bumps get really square-edged but some get hidden in the powder and it makes the track really hard to judge when you have traction and when you don‰Ûªt. Starts weren‰Ûªt that great today and there were a few silly mistakes but I probably got better as the day went on," he added.

Ford Dale never felt comfortable at the Tokoroa venue - Credit: Andy McGechan

Gibbs team-mate for 2014, Ford Dale got the day off to a strong start, qualifying in second position just three tenths of a second behind Cody Cooper. Dale went on to post 5-6-5 results in the days three motos to finish the day 5th overall.

‰ÛÏNot a good day for us." Dale admitted. "I'm not too happy with how we went and I didn't feel comfortable on the track - it felt dangerous to me.

"I qualified well just two-tenths behind Cooper, but in the first Moto I went down on the second lap and never really regrouped from there, I just didn't feel it all day.

"I'm here to learn and to build for our series but that aside I want to win and I feel I didn't ride anywhere near my capabilities. We'll be back up there at the next round," he concluded.

The KTM duo will line up for the third round of the New Zealand MX championships at Pukekohe on the 9th of March.

Top Image: Kirk Gibbs is building towards the opening round of the Australian Motocross Championship.
Credit: Andy McGechan