Former MX1 champion Kirk Gibbs claimed a sixth-place result in a super-rough and technical Toowoomba round of the Australian ProMX Championship, which doubled as the unique retro weekend of season 2024 in Queensland. Unfortunately for teammate Byron Dennis, he was ruled out partway through the opening encounter.   The day got off to a positive start for Gibbs on his GASGAS MC 450F in qualifying fifth, before he finished fourth in the opening premier class race. The second moto was more challenging for the Sunshine Coast-based racer, working his way from outside of the top 10 into the top five.

Gibbs then encountered dramas and found himself bumped back down the order to 13th position, but he managed to work his way forward once more to P8. That placed him sixth overall for the weekend and, as a result, the MX1 mainstay remains fourth in the championship standings.
Kirk Gibbs:  "Overall, I’m happy with how I rode today, but on paper the results don’t show that. My first race was good, but at the start of the second moto there were all these ruts going into the second turn and I got shuffled right back. I managed to get myself back to fifth, but then I pushed into a turn too hard and blew through it. Being in a taller gear in the mud, the bike stalled and it took a while for me to get going again. I fought back to P8, but the track was really difficult today – there were ruts right into the base of the up ramps, then you were landing into more ruts, so you had to basically pick a line in the air and line yourself up. It was pretty gnarly!"
It was a short-lived return to competition for our MX2 hope Dennis this weekend. In his first race back after breaking his arm, the rookie injured his hand in the opening moto and eventually had to call it a day – since cleared of any major injuries after undergoing scans this afternoon.
Kyle Blunden (KTM Group Australia Motorsport Manager):  "It was Byron’s first race back from injury and, unfortunately, he came down one of the hills in the first moto and tangled with another rider and injured his hand. He tried to regroup and head out again, but was in too much pain. He was assessed by Racesafe and sent to hospital for scans. They’ve since come back clear of any serious injury, but he does have severe swelling – we’ll reassess his condition once the swelling goes down."  

The awesome MXGP of Loket in the Czech Republic saw Jorge Prado snag three P2 finishes, keeping the pressure on rival Tim Gajser, while in MX2, Simon Längenfelder go 2-2 to secure second place overall. With the championship race intensifying, all eyes are now on the sandy battleground of the MXGP of Flanders.

• Jorge Prado secured three P2 finishes at the MXGP of Loket, maintaining pressure on championship rival Tim Gajser.
  
• Simon Längenfelder went 2-2 in the MX2 class, achieving second place overall despite a crash in free practice.
  
• The Red Bull GASGAS Team looks ahead to the MXGP of Flanders, with eight races remaining in the season.

The crowds, the flares, the atmosphere, the epic views; there is no doubt that the MXGP of Loket is a super special weekend on the FIM Motocross World Championship calendar. Nestled in the hillsides of the scenic Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic, Loket - which has featured on the calendar nearly every year since 1995 - consists of a relentless sequence of steep jumps, tight turns, and an ever-changing rock-laced surface to keep riders and fans on the very edge of their seats. Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing Team MXGP rider Jorge Prado was more than ready for the challenge, however. Arriving in Loket with seven wins and eight podiums to his name for this season already, Prado is noticeably bringing his A-Game to every race, in the hunt to close down the championship gap with rival Tim Gajser at the top of the standings. An ultra-consistent performance throughout the weekend saw Prado secure no less than three P2 finishes, as well as his 12th Fox Holeshot award for a blistering start in Sunday’s second moto. With a second-place qualifying finish on Saturday in the bag, Prado lined up for Sunday’s first moto ready for action. After an impressive start, Prado executed a precision move on rival Jeffrey Herlings to take the lead on lap four, pulling a 1.2-second gap after just a few corners. The Spanish rider held on to the gap until an unfortunate error - caused in part by Loket’s treacherous conditions - forced him to relinquish the position back to his rival until the final flag. In the second moto, Prado once again burst out of the start gates in trademark style, securing the Fox Holeshot award, and the race lead. In a similar style to the first moto, Prado held on to the lead until mid-race distance when he slipped to second place - this time against Tim Gajser. In MX2, Simon Längenfelder followed Prado’s lead by going 2-2 to secure a second-place overall podium. The weekend wasn't without a touch of drama, however, with Längenfelder suffering a crash in free practice before qualifying. Unfazed, the young German raced to an impressive P4 in the qualifying race, securing his gate slot for Sunday. As the temperature cranked up on Sunday, Längenfelder kept his cool. The first moto was punctuated by a red flag in the opening laps, followed by a full restart. Going bar-to-bar with Liam Everts, Längenfelder charged up to second place with a 1.9-second gap behind race winner Kay de Wolf at the final flag. In Sunday’s second moto, Längenfelder once again charged hard from his P4 gate slot to jump up to third by lap five. In fact, the top six riders were separated by a mere 3.5 seconds throughout the majority of the race. Although Längenfelder briefly held the lead after carving past Liam Everts on lap eight, he slipped to second (this time overtaken by Kay de Wolf) on lap 15. With eight races remaining in the season, the Red Bull GASGAS Team now faces a frantic session of back-to-back weekends until the beginning of October. Next up is the infamous sand-surfaced Lommel for the MXGP of Flanders on the 28th of July. Stay tuned... MXGP - #1 - Jorge Prado: "A solid weekend overall you could say - with three P2 finishes. Starting from Saturday I just tried to stay consistent. I was struggling a little bit on this track with traction because I’m quite light, but I tried my best and gave it my all, and I think we came away with the best result we could this weekend. I felt ok in the second moto, my start was good but then I just made a mistake with the line and Tim [Gajser] got past me. It’s important to grab points for the championship; I want to catch up - but it is what it is. We’ve got some sand races coming up - I’ve been putting in training time on the sand, so it should be good. I’m looking forward to Lommel, and to make a good bounce back!” MX2 - #516 - Simon Längenfelder: "Almost a GP win this weekend you could say! My fitness is now getting better and better. Just before Maggiora, I had a fever, and since then I had been struggling - but now things are improving. This weekend we managed some strong finishes. The track was really difficult to ride fast - you had to push alot to try to ride over all the bumps out of the corners. I’m happy to be consistent with a 2-2 result. For sure everyone wants to win, but it’s not always easy. I think we will get there though; and I am really looking forward to Lommel.” MXGP of Loket Results: MXGP – Overall:
1. Tim Gajser (Honda) 45pts
2. Jorge Prado (GASGAS) 44pts
3. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) 43pts
4. Calvin Vlaanderen (Yamaha) 36pts
18. Mattia Guadagnini (Husqvarna) 18pts MXGP – Moto One:
1. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM)
2. Jorge Prado (GASGAS)
3. Tim Gajser (Honda)
8. Mattia Guadagnini (Husqvarna) MXGP – Moto Two:
1. Tim Gajser (Honda)
2. Jorge Prado (GASGAS)
3. Calvin Vlaanderen (Yamaha)
4. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM)
16. Mattia Guadagnini (Husqvarna) MXGP – Standings:
1. Tim Gajser (Honda) 663pts
2. Jorge Prado (GASGAS) 527pts
3. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) 608pts
12. Mattia Guadagnini (Husqvarna) 194pts MX2 – Overall:
1. Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 45pts
2. Simon Längenfelder (GASGAS) 44pts
3. Lucas Coenen (Husqvarna) 25pts
4. Liam Everts (KTM) 36pts
5. Mikkel Haarup (Triumph) 34pts
15. Sacha Coenen (KTM) 12pts
32. Andrea Adamo (KTM) 0pts MX2 – Moto One:
1. Lucas Coenen (Husqvarna)
2. Simon Längenfelder (GASGAS) 
3. Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 
5. Liam Everts (KTM)
26. Andrea Adamo (KTM)
28 Sacha Coenen (KTM) MX2 – Moto Two:
1. Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 
2. Simon Längenfelder (GASGAS) 
3. Liam Everts (KTM)
4. Lucas Coenen (Husqvarna)
9. Sacha Coenen (KTM)
DNS. Andrea Adamo (KTM) MX2 – Standings:
1. Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 626pts
2. Lucas Coenen (Husqvarna) 580pts
3. Simon Längenfelder (GASGAS) 560pts
4. Liam Everts (KTM) 515pts
5. Andrea Adamo (KTM) 457pts
8. Sacha Coenen (KTM) 362pts
16. Marc-Antoine Rossi (GASGAS) 122pts

A season-best performance from Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GASGAS Factory Racing duo Ryder DiFrancesco and Pierce Brown saw both 250MX team riders finish inside the top five overall at Saturday's Washougal National, completing Round 8 of the 2024 AMA Pro Motocross Championship in style.

• A double top-five from Ryder D and PB highlights season so far
• Fourth in Moto 1 and the round DiFrancesco's best-ever professional result
• Confidence on the up leading into two-week break in the series

Despite qualifying down the order in 16th position, Ryder D was able to capitalize on strong starts inside the top three during both races and made it count. He raced hard to fourth position in Moto 1 on his GASGAS MC 250F Factory Edition to seal a career-best score, then produced a sixth-place finish in Moto 2 for P4 overall. Ryder DiFrancesco:  "That was my best finish that I've had and we're happy with that achievement. I had two good starts today, so I was able to learn the speed up front more, and I keep getting better in terms of overall finishes. I'm excited to keep improving and the goal is to get on the podium by the end of the year. I'm looking forward to these couple of off weekends now." Brown was on the pace from the outset among the woods of Washougal, slotting into fourth as qualifying wrapped up, and then racing forward from outside the top 10 to sixth in the opening race. He was further toward the front in the final encounter, eventually making his way to P5 at the checkered flag, which placed him fifth overall. Pierce Brown:   "Washougal was a much better day for me after the last two weeks didn't go to plan. It was refreshing to get a solid overall result today, which is tied with my best result of the season, and I'm looking forward to putting in the work over the break before Unadilla!"

The Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GASGAS Factory Racing teammates continue to improve in terms of the championship standings as well, with PB currently placed seventh and DiFrancesco ninth. The team will take two weekends off now before action resumes at Unadilla.

Next Race:  August 10 – Unadilla, New York

Standings 450MX Class 2024 after 8 of 11 rounds
1. Chase Sexton, 360 points
2. Hunter Lawrence, 332
3. Justin Cooper, 284
4. Aaron Plessinger, 281
7. Malcolm Stewart, 213
9. Christian Craig, 161
10. Justin Barcia (USA), Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GASGAS Factory Racing, 148

Results 250MX Class – Washougal National
1. Haiden Deegan (USA), Yamaha
2. Tom Vialle (FRA), KTM
3. Jo Shimoda (JPN), Honda
4. Ryder DiFrancesco (USA), Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GASGAS Factory Racing
5. Pierce Brown (USA), Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GASGAS Factory Racing
11. Julien Beaumer (USA), KTM
15. Casey Cochran (USA), Husqvarna

Standings 250MX Class 2024 after 8 of 11 rounds
1. Haiden Deegan, 361 points
2. Tom Vialle, 307
3. Levi Kitchen, 291
7. Pierce Brown, 195
9. Ryder DiFrancesco, 181
11. Casey Cochran, 153
13. Julien Beaumer, 148