Image: Octopi Media.

A series of newfound mistakes in the opening rounds of Monster Energy Supercross have got to be eliminated, 250SX West contender Jo Shimoda has admitted this week.

The Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider led early in the main event at Oakland, only to stall and then later spectacularly go down in the whoops.

Shimoda entered round two off the back of seventh at the season-opener in Anaheim. Motivated to improve upon that, he qualified sixth and finished second in the heat race on Saturday, only to finish seventh in the main following further mishaps.

“My starts were much better today, so that is an area of big improvement for me,” the 19-year-old commented. “I’m at the front in the beginning of the race and I believe I have what it takes to fight for podium positions at the finish.

“I just need to eliminate the mistakes that I have made. For me, seventh place is not where I want to finish, but we had okay qualifying, a good heat race, and two great starts tonight so there is a lot to build on going into next weekend.

“There were a lot of positives that we had in Oakland, but I wasn’t able to get the result I know we are capable of… It’s frustrating, but at least I know there are things that can be adjusted.”

Shimoda currently sits seventh in the standings as the Monster Energy Supercross Championship heads to San Diego this Saturday for round three.