Image: Supplied.

Eli Tomac has attributed a lacklustre start to his sixth place finish in Saturday night’s main event for the ninth round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship in Atlanta.

The Monster Energy Kawasaki rider, who stood atop the podium just one week earlier in Detroit, endured difficulty coming through the field at the challenging circuit, finishing up outside the top five while increasing the gap to the leaders in the championship classification.

“I was feeling great all day, especially with the fastest lap time in qualifying,” Tomac explained. “I made a few errors in my heat race but still felt confident heading into the main, I just wasn’t able to get out in front off the gate and it really cost me.

“I’m glad we were able to make up some positions and wrap up the first half of the season healthy. I’m really looking forward to Daytona next weekend, it’s definitely one of my favourite tracks and a great one to kick off the second half of the series.”

The two-time Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross 450MX champion has experience a mixed season in the first nine rounds, winding up on the podium four times with two wins to his name.