MX2 Australian Motocross Championship contender Ford Dale will revise his pre-race preparation following a disastrous Monster Energy MX Nationals round at Wanneroo in WA on Sunday.

The Carlton Dry Honda Thor Racing MX2 contender slipped to 39 points behind in-form Serco Yamaha rider Luke Styke, now facing an uphill battle to claw back those points lost with seventh overall on the weekend.

“It definitely wasn’t the best weekend,” Dale said. “I felt good on the bike, but nothing really gelled for me. I am going to change my preparation for the next round and come in with a new game plan.

“I think I may have over prepared for this weekend. I have been working harder than ever before but I came in not feeling 100 percent. I am going to back it down a bit on the riding side so I am turning up fresh.”

Dale qualified third but a crash on the first lap of moto one left him to fight back from dead last. Dale finished the race eighth.

A bad start in moto two put Dale back in the pack again. The Honda rider worked his way up to fourth and was making ground on the front-runners but ran out of laps to progress any further.

Bad luck returned in moto three, crashing while sitting fourth and was forced to work his way back up the order.

Finishing 10th in the final race saw Dale end the round seventh and sees him retain second in the MX2 standings.