Australian Brett Metcalfe felt like St. Louis was a step forward. Image: Simon Cudby.

South Australian Brett Metcalfe believes that the St. Louis round of Monster Energy AMA Supercross could be the turning point of his season.

The lone Yoshimura Suzuki rider made a breakthrough in the set-up of his RM-Z450, despite tweaking his leg in practice, and his confidence has stepped up another level entering the season’s second half.

“This track suits me – the dirt’s really tacky and gets nice ruts and it’s tight and pretty technical,” Metcalfe explained. “In the last practice, we made a change with the bike and I started to feel comfortable and get a good flow and be at one with the bike.”

At the onset of the evening’s racing, Metcalfe’s leg was still bothering him and he was forced to sit out the opening ceremonies.

Despite this, he managed to get the holeshot in his eight-lap heat race, lead the first few laps and finished fourth. In the 20-lap main event, the 27-year-old again got a good start and brought home eighth place.

“We got the holeshot in the heat race and that was a good start for us,” said Metcalfe. “I rode solid and got a fourth and I was happy that I was riding well. In the main event, I got a good start but then I got pushed wide and got hung-up a little bit.

“But I was in a good flow and in race mode, more so than I’ve been all year. We only got an eighth and we’re working on improving those results, but I think this weekend was a turning point for my season.”

As the series’ east coast rounds continue, Metcalfe is feeling comfortable and confident on the Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450. As a result, he is counting down the days until next weekend’s race in Florida.

“Daytona is always tough, both physically and mentally,” he added. “It’s more of an outdoor track, but still with some gnarly supercross obstacles. It’s going to be tough, but I’m just really stoked with where the Suzuki’s at right now and the feeling I have with the RM-Z450.

“I’m looking forward to a good week and being strong at Daytona and improving on the results we’ve been picking off.”

Daytona will take place this Saturday, 10 March, in Florida.