Image: Octopi Media.

Kiwi newcomer Cole Davies left Anaheim 1 in a buoyant mood on Saturday night after showcasing his capabilities in the professional ranks and recovering from an opening lap incident to finish eighth in the 250SX West main event.

Initially set to race as an amateur for another year, 17-year-old Davies has been fast-tracked to Monster Energy Supercross and debuted at the high-profile season-opener.

After qualifying in P6, Davies chased Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing teammate Haiden Deegan home to P2 in his heat race, but saw his main event impacted early when he went down. Like Deegan, he charged back through the field to salvage a decent result, but the signs are there for more as experience builds.

“My pro debut at Anaheim 1 was a positive day,” Davies reflected. “I learned a lot of race-craft and felt good on the bike. I ended up sixth in qualifying and got second in the heat, but I went down on the first lap of the main and came from last to eighth. It’s time to build off that and get ready for San Diego!”

Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 250 team manager Jenson Hendler commented: “Even though the results don’t show it on paper, it was a great first round for the team.

“We’re really proud of Cole. He got the holeshot and finished second behind Haiden in the heat race, which was great. Unfortunately, it was just a crazy main event – Cole and Michael [Mosiman] also crashed after the start and had to come from the back. Cole finished eighth in his first pro race and showed the speed to run up front.”