Australian Dean Ferris suffered a double DNF at Helsinki invitational supercross in Finland over the weekend, but showed promising form on debut with Ice 1 Racing.

The GP rookie won his heats on Friday before crashing out of the final, dashing his hopes of a debut victory with the Finnish team.

“I wasn’t able to quite get the double jump on the finish line, so my front tyre dug into the mud and I hit myself hard on the bike,” Ferris explained. “The pain took over me and I just couldn’t finish.”

Ferris again suffered a non-finish on Saturday, but Formula One driver and team owner Kimi Räikkönen is content with the early form of Ferris and his teammates.

“The boys rode well,” Räikkönen said. “The first race of the season is of course always one of a kind and it’s an indoor supercross on a fairly soft track, but the speed seems to be coming along.”

The world championship will commence on 9 April at Valkenswaard in the Netherlands.