Image: Octopi Media.

Premier class points leader Ken Roczen admits he went into damage control at San Diego’s sixth round of Monster Energy Supercross, the number 94 hanging onto the red plate after finishing outside of the top five.

The Team Honda HRC rider looked set for another strong night, claiming a commanding victory in his heat race by over 11 seconds.

A less than stellar start put the German ace on the back foot in the 25-lap main event, however he struggled to progress forward alongside championship rival Eli Tomac (Monster Energy Kawasaki), crossing the line in an uncharacteristic sixth.

“The night started off really well,” Roczen reflected. “I crushed it in the heat race and had an awesome start. Ultimately in the main, I got an okay but not great jump and just got sandwiched in the first turn and again in the second turn, losing four more positions.

“It made for a tough race. I also got stuck behind [Justin] Barcia and just wasn’t riding well. Then [Eli] Tomac got me and from there on out, I was just going backwards. I lost touch with the front guys and wasn’t that good.

“Unfortunately, as much as we don’t like it, we all have those races and we did some damage control. It’s obviously not where we want to be but we’re heading to the East Coast still with the points lead, so that’s a positive. It’s still a long season ahead.”

Roczen leads Tomac by one point as the series heads East this weekend at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.