American rookie Phil Nicoletti finished third overall for the round at Wodonga. Image: Alex Gobert.

Reflecting on the Wodonga round of the Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Phil Nicoletti says a ‘stupid error’ in moto three cost him the overall in the Pro Lites.

Nicoletti carried his Coonabarabran round winning momentum with him to Albury and got straight down to business, promptly qualifying his KX250F in pole position before checking out for two moto wins before lunch.

Things came unstuck in the third moto when Nicoletti ran off the track and found himself tangled in tyres. He still managed to claw his way back to fifth, however a last lap crash relegated the New Yorker back to 11th.

A frustrated Nicoletti then took fourth in the final moto (1-1-11-4) to take third overall for the round and advance to third in the championship.

“I started the day off well but it didn’t end as planned,” he admitted. “A stupid error in the third moto cost me the overall. Even though I fought back to fifth in that race, I should have settled but I pushed too hard and crashed again and it cost me.

“I’ve made errors like that before and shouldn’t be making them anymore so I’m disappointed. On the up side, I was like 10th in championship after Murray Bridge but now I’m up to third with something like 300 points still up for grabs.

“I’ll just keep cooking away moto wins, keep doing what I’m doing and see how it pans out.”