South Australian Brett Metcalfe says he’s satisfied with his riding despite ultimately struggling to gain a strong result at the Thunder Valley round of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship.

Metcalfe started the day with the fourth fastest time in qualifying, but a bad start and crash in the first moto saw him forced to slice through the field back to position nine.

The Rockstar Makita Suzuki rider had a better start in moto two, but got caught up in a turn two incident and again had to work his way up from near the back. The end result was a seventh, giving him that same position overall.

“It was a pretty good weekend in Colorado,” said Metcalfe. “Riding-wise, I was happy. I had a bad start and a small crash in the first moto. I was just really far back and Thunder Valley is a technical track.

“And with the altitude, the bikes are slower, so it’s really difficult to make up time. Unfortunately, not a good result with a ninth, but from where I came from, my riding was good.

“The second moto I got a much better start, but I got caught up in a bit of a pile up in the second corner, so I ended up at the back again. I was pretty frustrated, but I rode good that second moto.

“My team made some adjustments that really helped me in the second moto. I’m looking forward to Redbud. Everyone likes Redbud – it’s an awesome track and I feel really comfortable on the bike now and feel strong.

“I really need to get the starts there and give myself a chance to run up front.”

Metcalfe sits sixth in the championship points but just one point out of fifth and four points out of fourth.