It was all positive progress for Australia’s Hayden Mellross at San Diego’s second round of the 2017 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship following a tough season-opening event at Anaheim.

Aboard his 51FIFTY Energy Drink Yamaha YZ250F, Mellross showed strong speed in his heat race before clashing with another rider and transferring through to the 250SX main event in sixth position.

His previous best main event performance being an 11th place finish, Mellross beamed with positivity after locking in his first top 10 West Coast 250SX main event finish with a ninth on the night at Petco Park.

“Mate, I feel good after that one,” said Mellross. “All day the bike was working great and I put together some solid laps in qualifying and was pushing myself in the heat. I didn’t back down and ended up hitting the deck, but it’s no big deal.”

Although an early issue in the 15-minute main event saw Mellross off the track and back in 19th position, he refused to give up: “A bit of a bummer being bumped off in the main, but I was happy with how I rode all the way until the end. I didn’t give up and was able to put in a career-best ninth.”

Despite his DNF with a mechanical problem at A1, Mellross now sits 14th overall in the West Coast 250SX points-chase as the series prepares to return to Anaheim’s Angel Stadium on 21 January for round three.