Former privateer Geran Stapleton is aiming for top five finishes aboard his Raceline Pirelli Suzuki as he contests his first Monster Energy MX Nationals season with the well-established team outfit.

Stapleton spent time during his pre-season in the US at the Millsaps Training Facility, sharpening his skills as he prepared to make his debut for the Suzuki-backed squad alongside Ryan Marmont.

The Victorian met his own humble expectations at Raymond Terrace’s season opener, earning himself a top 10 MX2 finish to use as a foundation to build on throughout the season.

“Coming in I had a pretty good pre-season,” said Stapleton. “And at the first round I was hoping to come away with a top 10, no crashes and sort of build from there.

“Murray Bridge was decent, I was just a tick off the top guys. Just crashes in both motos set me back and I didn’t get a top five result because of that.

“But we can build on that I guess and we’ll move on to the next round and try to get into that top five during the next few rounds.”

Stapleton believes if he stays off the ground and remains consistent, he can achieve a top five result during the next eight rounds of racing.

“I would like to think that I can get up into the top five and stay consistent – try and stay off the ground,” he added. “At Murray Bridge that was my main problem having those crashes in both motos.”

Raceline Pirelli Suzuki team manager Ben Lane is impressed with Stapleton’s progression to date, admitting that his current fifth overall placing in points is actually slightly better than expected.

“I think his progression from when he first came to the team, to now – his outdoor skills have definitely improved,” said Lane. “He’s sitting fifth in the championship at the moment, which is probably a little higher than what we thought originally.

“He had a few issues at the first round that we needed to work on, mainly dealing with the 30-minute motos and his intensity at the start of the moto.”

Stapleton proved to Lane that he had worked on his weak points between rounds one and two, lifting his intensity at Murray Bridge and earning his best finish to date.

“I was really impressed with how he came out on the weekend, he handled himself very well in the 30-minute motos and his intensity at the start of both motos was incredible from what it was at the first round,” he added.

“Being his first year on a team and doing the 30-minute motos, I think sitting in the top five overall at the moment is great.”