Scotsman Billy Mackenzie battled against a painful dislocated rib on Sunday at Raymond Terrace’s third round of the Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals last weekend.

Restricted to his bed and couch for the week following an awkward crash at Appin, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Mackenzie opted to suit up and race at Raymond Terrace, a decision that proved wise for him as he scored valuable championship points.

Mackenzie went 7-12-7-8 on Sunday to score eighth overall for the round.

“I crashed in the first moto at Appin and did something to my left shoulder,” he said. “I was trying to play it down to myself, telling myself it was going to be alright but sleeping at night, getting up and around was actually really painful.

“I saw a guy who did the job right. A rib at the back was dislocated so he crunched and cracked and got it put back in. I tried to put it to the back of mind here today but after practise I stiffened up. My whole upper body was like a board.

“I just had to struggle and try and push through it today and try and get as many points as I can because I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to run up front. It’s disappointing. It’s frustrating. It was a difficult day.”

Although he slipped back to sixth in the championship, he sits only 12 points shy of the top three ahead of next month’s return to South Australia on 8 May.