Image: Octopi Media.

Following an overall podium to commence the post-season, Dylan Ferrandis had his sights firmly set on a strong result at Chicagoland, but a challenging fifth overall ‘wasn’t easy’ or the result he was after at playoff two.

Ferrandis was third at Charlotte with a 2-4 scorecard and, despite it being a contract year for the Frenchman, he insisted his immediate objective was the best possible SMX results before a future deal.

The number 14 qualified ninth and launched inside the top five during the opening moto, ultimately passed on the final lap by Aaron Plessinger (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) to finish P6. In moto two, Ferrandis was seventh in the early stages and was able to progress relatively quickly to fourth on lap three, but took the checkered flag in P5 to land fifth overall.

“It was a very difficult day and a tough start to the weekend,” said Ferrandis. “We started the Friday practice on the Supercross set-up and it was way too steep. Every practice, we changed the set-up and tried to be better, which was kind of a little bit difficult to manage mentally.

“There was a lot of frustration, but coming into the race, I just did my best and got two good starts. I was lacking pace for sure, but yeah, 6-5 for fifth overall. That’s the best I could do today and I’m happy, because in the end I did the job and it wasn’t easy.”

The 450SMX title race now appears to be a three-way race between red plate-holder Chase Sexton (Team Honda HRC), Jett Lawrence (Team Honda HRC) and Ken Roczen (HEP Suzuki). That said, with triple points on offer, fifth-placed Ferrandis – currently 19 points from the lead – has an outside chance when the action takes place this Friday and Saturday at LA Coliseum.