Australian rookie Tye Simmonds is hoping for a turn in luck to round out his maiden AMA Supercross season after a frustrating evening in Salt Lake City on Saturday night.

The JDR/J-Star/KTM Team rider narrowly missed out on a start in the main event in Utah after he scored fifth in the LCQ, however it was a heat race crash that dashed his hopes for a better result.

Simmonds started decent in the heat but got taken out early on, the incident crushed his exhaust and he had to pull off and was unable to finish the heat.

He was given last gate pick in the Supercross LCQ because of his heat race DNF, working his way through the pack but ultimately missing a top two transfer position.

“I have had some bad luck the past few weekends and am really bummed to not make it in the main event here at Salt Lake City,” the 18-year-old said.

“”Hopefully my luck will change when we go to Las Vegas next weekend. I’d really like to have my best finish at that round.”

Simmonds’ 19th birthday is on Tuesday, 3 May.

In other JDR news, Simmonds’ teammate PJ Larsen, who was injured at the Houston Supercross earlier this year, had his cast removed over the weekend and plans on returning to the track next week.