The Finnish round of the MXGP World Championship at Hyvinkää further displayed Australian Dean Ferris’ vast capabilities on the world stage, finishing sixth overall after vying for a podium position in moto two.

Ferris is riding the factory Red Bull IceOne Racing Husqvarna FC 350 of Tyla Rattray in the final European rounds of the season, coming off a damaging wrist injury sustained midway through the American supercross season.

A fulltime return to Europe in 2015 is the priority for Ferris, and his seventh in moto one followed by a fifth in moto two last weekend will firmly position him on the factory radar at this point.

And with two more appearances in the Czech Republic and Belgium remaining, 24-year-old Ferris is expecting further improvements to come as bike time increases.

“It’s been a great GP for me and the team,” Ferris said. “Sweden was disappointing; I was battling with the flu there. I wasn’t able to spend any time on a bike testing coming into the race in Finland, and it took me a while to find a good set-up on Saturday. But both of the races went really well.

“I was second off the start in the first moto and stayed with the leaders for a while. I stalled my bike once when a small rock got stuck in the front sprocket, but a seventh place result was pretty good. The second moto was great, but tough for me.

“I’m still coming back form my injuries and fighting off the tail end of the flu – I gave everything I had. My start wasn’t as good but I pushed hard and got into a good rhythm. The battle for third to sixth was really close, so to know that I was fighting for a podium despite feeling really tired was great. I know I’ll be in better shape for the next GP, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Ferris is scheduled to head back to America following his European stint to contest the final three rounds of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross for Red Bull KTM in the 250 Class.