Tickle is keeping an upbeat attitude in his rookie 450 season. Image: Simon Cudby.

Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Broc Tickle is keeping an upbeat attitude towards his rookie 450 season, despite having a rough season to date.

In Atlanta tickle was fast in practice and took a fifth place in his heat race to transfer into the main event.

But bad luck followed Tickle, having a rock wedging its way into his rear brake on lap one, making it useless for the rest of the 20-lap race.

Tickle tried his best to adapt to the situation, but in the end he could only salvage a 16th place finish.

“I felt a lot better on the bike tonight, so what I’m taking away from tonight is not my result,” said Tickle.

“Based on how I rode before the mishap and how comfortable I was feeling on the bike, my confidence is high especially with the team working so hard,”

“I want a good finish so bad; a good result could turn things around for me, so I hope to get a good start and ride like myself next week,”

“This week I’m going to take a day and have some fun on the bike, loosen up, and assure I’m feeling good and fresh for next weekend.”

Tickle sits 13th overall in points, as the AMA Supercross series heads into round nine of 17 at St. Louis this weekend.