Following a nightmare Broadford showing, KTM Motocross Racing Team’s Caleb Ward is remaining positive as the 2016 Motul MX Nationals series moves on.

Entering the third round of the championship with an 11 point MX2 championship lead and a perfect score of two overall round wins, the Queenslander was in the midst of a dream season start before disaster struck.

Ward suffered a mechanical DNF in moto one before a crash late in moto two saw him cross the line with a 15th place finish pushing him back to seventh overall in points.

“Obviously it was a pretty horrible day, it always can be worse I guess,” said Ward. “But I went from having a decent points lead to being 30 points down just due to weather conditions and the track, so obviously that sucks.

“In the first moto I stuffed up my jump out of the gate and I ended up a fair way back. I was making my way through, but because the track was so muddy, I ended up having a mechanical and DNFed. It was no-one’s fault.

“In the second I got a reasonable start but was too far to the inside and got pinched off. I was making my way through fairly good and was into sixth or seventh, when [Jayden] Rykers high-sided right in front of me when I was like in third year pinned and I went straight over the handlebars and head first into the ground.”

Ward, although disappointed in his day, looks forward to upcoming rounds where he has put together impressive performances in the past, such as Murray Bridge where he swept both MX2 motos in 2015.

“What should have been a day with two top-five finishes, became a DNF and a 15th,” he added. “A horrible day, but I’m looking forward to the next few rounds and tracks where I’ve had a bit of success in the past.”

After taking the Broadford overall with a 1-1 performance, DPH Motorsport rider Jed Beaton now holds the series leading red plate previously held by Ward.