Image: Jeremy Hammer (Foremost Media).

A ‘brain snap’ moment in Saturday’s SX2 main event at the third round of the 2016 Australian Supercross Championship proved to be costly for Jackson Richardson’s title campaign.

The Serco Yamaha rider, who was coming off a commanding victory at Toowoomba’s second round, looked to be maintaining his form in Adelaide after claiming a heat race win, although an off-track excursion in the opening laps of the main resulted in his momentum coming to a crashing halt.

“In the end it was my fault that Nato [Crawford] and I came together,” Richardson explained to MotoOnline.com.au. “I should have just gone around the outside of the track and given him the spot back and then regrouped.”

“I panicked a little, I tried to get back on the track as fast as I could, unfortunately we came together and I came off second best. It was a little bit of a brain snap, but you’ve got to have those things. Now I have to learn from it and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

The popular Queenslander salvaged fifth place in the 15-lap main event and currently sits 10 points behind series leader Hayden Mellross, which has led him to admit that the final three rounds of the series are now a must-win if he wants to be crowned champion at Sydney’s season finale.

“Hayden has been super consistent, we’ve had three rounds now and he hasn’t been off the podium,” he continued. “So with that, it’s definitely a must-win for me. The safest bet for me to win the championship is to win the next three rounds and put myself in a good position.”

Avalon Raceway will host the fourth round of the 2016 Australian Supercross Championship this Saturday night in Victoria.