Victorian Josh Cachia is satisfied with his fourth place finish in the opening round of the Monster Energy MX Nationals at Conondale on Sunday.

After time spent in the U.S. with JDR Motorsports’ American arm, Cachia entered the series with confidence, but suffered a tough start with a heavy qualifying crash.

In the end, Cachia was top-performing JDR/KTM team rider for the round on a 250 SX-F, finishing a solid fourth place overall after claiming 4-3-4 results in the trio of motos to commence the 10-round season.

“The day started off rough because I had one of the biggest crashes that I’ve had in a couple of years,” Cachia explained. “I went to America during the pre-season, felt good and then I came here and was doing nothing.

“But I got good starts all day, just rode solid and rode my own race. It wasn’t given to me, so considering how bad it could have been, it was a good day.”

Cachia’s teammate Ryan Marmont entered the round under an injury cloud after suffering a wrist injury during the pre-season, battling to 12th position overall.

JDR/KTM’s lone MX1 contender Dan Reardon finished the round 11th overall aboard a 450 SX-F, claiming 9-10-11 finishes in a challenging start to the season.