In just his fourth Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship appearance, West Coast 250SX rookie Austin Forkner made his way to the Phoenix podium in impressive fashion.

The fast-starting Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider remained confident in his abilities off the gate and lept to the early main event lead holding the top spot for the opening three laps.

“The race was good,” said Forkner. “I rode a lot better than I have been, more consistent and didn’t make mistakes. I was really confident in my starts, back to back weekends I’ve earned both holeshots in the heat and main.

“With starts like that I knew I was going to be up there and thought if someone gets by I just need to relax, figure out what they’re doing better than me and use it to be better.”

Learning from passing riders Shane McElrath and Justin Hill, and minimising any costly errors, the 18-year-old put together his best race of the season and continued his consistent improvement after scoring eighth, fifth and fourth place finishes in the opening three rounds.

“I knew I needed to not make mistakes like I did in the heat where I cased the triple trying to pass someone back,” he added. “I tried to ride smooth and fast, I’m really happy with how I opened the race and I held the lead for a few laps which is definitely the best I’ve done so far.”

Forkner now holds down fifth place in the championship standings, 25 points behind series leader Shane McElrath and just three points off his closest competitor, Martin Davalos.