Image: Octopi Media.

A season-best fifth-place finish at round 13 of the Monster Energy Supercross championship in Philadelphia was a strong step in the right direction for Quad Lock Honda’s Joey Savatgy, who had endured a challenging period following an injury sustained in Indianapolis.

Returning to racing in Foxborough, Savatgy failed to qualify for the main event after a string of mistakes in both his heat race and the LCQ, with exceptionally muddy conditions providing a substantial challenge for the field.

Leaving Foxborough with a performance he labelled ‘embarrassing’, a solid top-five ride at Philadelphia is exactly what the Georgia native was looking for to kickstart the remainder of his Supercross campaign.

“Last weekend was a real gut punch in not making the main,” Savatgy commented post-race. “Talk about a rollercoaster, though, right? Last weekend was my fault, just not putting myself in good positions, so yeah, fifth place here feels really good.

“I was definitely sloppy at times out there. I need to be better at the start of the race, but it’s hard not to be happy. It’s a step in the right direction. The first turn carnage helped me out a little bit, but overall, we’re excited to keep building in these final few [races].”

A seventh-place result in Tampa was previously Savatgy’s best finish of the season, with four rounds remaining in this year’s championship to better his current P15 placement in the 450SX series standings.