In what were treacherous conditions at round five of the 2023 Australian ProMX Championship, KTM Racing Team’s Nathan Crawford continued his MX2 title pursuit with a strong second place overall, as MX1 class challenger Kirk Gibbs posted two consistent results to secure fourth overall.
Qualifying fifth, Crawford began Sunday’s racing with a hard-fought second place in the opening MX2 moto, charging to within half a second of the race victory as chequered flag flew. After a mid-field start in moto two, Crawford put his head down and charged, taking second place, and a good haul of championship points with P2 overall for the event.
Western Australian rookie Kayden Minear experienced a challenging Gillman event aboard his KTM 250 SX-F as poor starts hampered his day, with the KTM Racing Team rider notching 11th overall in the sandy conditions, which places him sixth in the 2023 MX2 Championship standings.
In the MX1 Class, KTM Racing Team’s former champion Kirk Gibbs began his day with eighth in qualifying, before posting a strong ride for third in the opening moto. A chaotic second moto which featured a mid-race downpour made for challenging conditions, with Gibbs putting in a calculated ride for sixth, and fourth overall at the Gillman round.
The 2023 Australian ProMX Championship now heads to Toowoomba, Queensland, for round six of the series on June 25.
Kirk Gibbs: “It was a decent race weekend for us here in South Australia. It was good to get back in front of the hometown fans and finish third in the opening moto after qualifying eighth. Second moto was crazy with the rain out of nowhere, so struggled a little bit in that moto and got sixth. All in all a decent weekend, and my sights are now set on Toowoomba in a few weeks time."
Nathan Crawford: “Good day here in Gillman for round five of this year's championship. I need to put myself out front in order to get closer towards the championship, although can't complain with a 2-2 result. We'll take it, put in work between now and the next round, and thanks to the whole team for working hard this weekend."
Kayden Minear: “Difficult day for me here in South Australia, just never really found my flow and my starts hurt me. Second moto, felt better, I think I was seventh in that one, but after a tough couple race weekends, I'm ready to regroup and move towards the front for the last few rounds of the championship.”