A troubled beginning to his high-profile MX1 debut at Wonthaggi will see Honda Racing’s Kyle Webster learn from his mishaps on debut after qualifying in P1 and crashing out of the lead in both motos.

The current MX2 champion had a strong pre-season adapting to the CRF450R, dominating the AMX Open late last year at the same venue with a number of top national-level riders in attendance, including reigning champion Luke Clout.

Webster was able to translate that form into the weekend’s Penrite ProMX opener to qualify fastest ahead of the season-opening two motos and was quick out of the gate in moto one to assert an early lead.

A mistake on lap two saw Webster drop back to ninth, over 15 seconds behind Clout who capitalised to take the race lead. Impressively, the number 96 used his raw speed to claw his way back into contention and was within striking distance of Clout in the closing stages, before he fell once more, quickly remounting to finish second.

Moto two saw Webster ride controlled at the front for the majority of race distance, but a sizeable crash again in the closing stages meant fifth was the best result that he could manage. That placed him fourth overall after losing third position on countback to Todd Waters.

“Absolutely not the weekend I was looking for,” Webster admitted. “I started it out really well with a pole position and two holeshots, but just a few mistakes in the races really cost me this weekend.

“I will definitely by looking to Mackay to try and not do that and be where I should be. That was not the weekend I was looking for, not the way I wanted to start this championship and give back to the team after this pre-season, but we have several rounds to make it happen.”

Webster sits 12 points back from points-leader and defending MX1 champion Clout as the series moves to Queensland with round two taking place next Sunday, 10 April in Mackay.