Gibbs emerged as the early man to beat in qualifying, while CDR Yamaha’s Dean Ferris was also on the pace finishing the session in second. KTM’s Jesse Dobson, Wilson Coolair Motul Factory Suzuki’s Todd Waters and NPE Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Kade Mosig were the final three riders to progress through to GoPro Superpole at the conclusion of the session.

When the gates dropped for Race 1 it was Mosig who secured the MXStore holeshot. However, it took no time at all for CDR Yamaha’s Ferris to move in to the lead.

In what was a huge shock to spectators, on lap ten, Ferris made a small mistake, crashing and handing the lead to Waters – Ferris forced to re-join the pack in third position behind Gibbs.

When riders received the last lap board, Waters was in the box seat to take the moto one victory, but Gibbs and Ferris were locked in to an aggressive battle for second position.
Ferris blew past Gibbs like he was standing still in the front section of the track, and not long after that, Gibbs came off and was forced to re join the race in third position.

But when the chequered flag flew, it was Waters who had reason to celebrate, taking the opening moto win from Ferris who finished in second, while Gibbs concluded race one in third.

In race two, the hole shot was taken by KTM’s Gibbs, followed by Mosig, however once again it took no time at all for CDR Yamaha’s Ferris to assert his authority, moving past Mosig and up in to second position.

As race two progressed, Ferris once again began to close in on Gibbs’ lead, setting the final race up as a dash to the finish line.
By the half way point in moto two, the running order saw Gibbs maintaining a marginal gap on Ferris, while Mosig who was in third, was just fighting off a hard charging Waters in fourth. Fifth place was occupied by KTM’s Dobson.

And with six minutes remaining, Ferris made a pass on Gibbs that stuck, allowing him to move in to the lead position, relegating last year’s champ to second.

However, in what was yet another shock to onlookers, Ferris once again made a mistake, going down when out in front which eventually cost him the win – Allowing Gibbs to claim victory, followed by Ferris and Waters who wrapped up moto two in second and third places respectively.
When points were tallied, it was KTM’s Gibbs who was awarded the round victory with 3,1 results, while Waters was handed second position after finishing on equal points to Gibbs on a countback. For Ferris mistakes at Round 8 proved costly, finishing in third position on the overall Thor MX1 podium.
Gibbs retains the red plate after Round 8, and continues to lead the Thor MX1 championship by nine points.
Kirk Gibbs – KTM Motocross Racing Team – Round 8 Overall Winner
“It’s good to be up here. As everyone has said, the three of us are all riding very well, and it’s coming down to who can put it all together. Two solid motos, with no crashes and no mistakes,” Gibbs said.
“In the final moto things worked out well for me. I got the holeshot and I could feel Dean (Ferris) right behind me the whole time, when he made the pass on me, he ended up making a mistake so I’m happy to take the win.
“I’m just super happy to keep chipping away at this championship, and I’ll never give up, so I’m going to keep fighting until the end.”

Thor MX1 round eight results
1) Kirk Gibbs – 65 points
2) Todd Waters – 65 points
3) Dean Ferris – 64 points
4) Kade Mosig – 56 points
5) Jesse Dobson – 51 points
6) Jacob Wright – 49 points
7) Daniel Banks – 46 points
8) Joel Green – 46 points
9) James Alen – 43 points
10) Kurt Gow – 42 points

Thor MX1 Championship Standings
1) Kirk Gibbs – 538 points
2) Dean Ferris – 529 points
3) Todd Waters – 522 points
4) Kade Mosig – 437 points
5) Matt Moss – 381 points
6) Dylan Long – 359 points
7) Jacob Wright – 340 points
8) Jay Wilson – 320 points
9) Michael Menchi– 301 points
10) Daniel Banks – 299 points