Matt Moss made his anticipated AMA SX debut with an 11th at Anaheim 1.

An 11th place finish at Anaheim 1’s opening round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, is a reasonable start, according to JDR/J-Star/KTM’s Matt Moss.

The current Australian Pro Lites Motocross and Supercross Champion made his anticipated return to the U.S. with JDR, finishing 11th at A1 in the West Coast Lites class after taking fifth in his heat.

Following a bad start in the main event, Moss put in an inspired ride to narrowly miss a top 10, but at this point he’s just happy to make it through the opener as he builds both confidence and momentum.

“I am very excited to come to the U.S. and race and I am thankful my team has given me this opportunity,” Moss said.

“I have tried several times to come over here and race but I have always ended up hurt before the season started, so I’m grateful I am already off to a much better start this season.”

Team manager Nathan Ramsay was also satisfied that Moss’ result is a solid starting point for the long year ahead.

“Matt had an excellent debut tonight almost breaking into the top 10,” Ramsay said. “For his first Supercross race we are satisfied with this result and know areas we can work with him to improve for the future.”