Queenslander Dan Reardon made his official race debut with the JDR/J-Star/KTM team at the Oakland round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, racing to 16th in the main event.

Reardon returned to racing after undergoing surgery for a torn meniscus prior to the season opener in Anaheim, taking the final transfer position to the final after finishing second in the LCQ.

“By the time the main event rolled around my knee was beginning to bother me,” Reardon admitted. “It was more because I am still lacking a full range of motion and it was becoming tricky to navigate my knee carefully around the deep ruts.

“This was definitely a tough track and probably not the easiest to make my return at but my goal coming into this race was to qualify into the main and finish the race without crashes and I was able to do that.

“It’s not the best result but it felt good to be back. I feel like I am improving everyday and as my knee progresses I feel my results will improve. I am looking forward to the next few rounds,” Reardon concluded.

18-year-old teammate Tye Simmonds narrowly missed out on a main event start, edged out by Reardon in the LCQ for the final qualifying position.

“I was really bummed to not make it in the main event this weekend but it just makes me try harder for next week,” Simmonds said.

Reardon is scheduled to return to Australia for the MX Nationals this season, while Simmonds is committed to a full season in the AMA as a rookie.