Australian Luke Clout is remaining upbeat after a largely positive night at Anaheim 1’s opening round of Monster Energy Supercross, where his evening came to a premature end in the 250SX West main event.

The Penrite Honda Racing contender qualified strongly in 11th before transferring directly to the main with a P5 heat race result.

Still adapting to the CRF250R after just a month on the bike, the New South Welshman was positioned inside the top 10 during the opening stages of the 17-lap encounter, however an error at approximately the halfway mark saw him crash out of proceedings.

“My riding was good for most of the day but I am just so bummed,” Clout admitted. “I was sitting in eighth and pushing hard, but I made a mistake and it cost me really big.

“I’m a bit banged up, but there are a lot of positives to take away from the night – it’s been good to see where I’m at over here against some of these guys and I know I will only get better from here.

“I haven’t had too much time on the 250 and the whoops were a challenge for me tonight, but I will keep grinding – I’ve only been back on the 250 for 3-4 weeks and it’s been about four years since I’ve been on one, so its an adjustment.”

The main event was taken out by Justin Cooper (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) ahead of reigning champion Dylan Ferrandis (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha), while Austin Forkner (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki), who crossed the line in third, was penalised for cutting the track and ultimately granted fifth.

Monster Energy Supercross heads to St. Louis this Saturday, 11 January, for round two of the series.