Reigning 250SX East coast champion Colt Nichols is honing in on what it’s going to take to put himself in a position to win races following a fifth-place finish at the second round of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross championship.

The Monster Energy Star Racing rider’s outdoor campaign started off with what he called a ‘lackluster performance’ in the opening round of the series at Fox Raceway.

After notching 9-12 moto scores for ninth overall, Nichols cited starts as a main point of focus as the series headed for round two.

“It was a tough day at the office for me,” Nichols explained. “I struggled to find any flow on the track all day and was disappointed in my lackluster performance, but I need to put myself in a better position out of the gate.”

As the series headed to Lakewood, Colorado for round two at Thunder Valley on Saturday, Nichols still struggled off the line but found improvements elsewhere to go 9-5 for fifth overall.

“I made my life really difficult today with two bad starts but my riding was much better this weekend so I’m happy about that,” he continued. “I just need a better start and to have more pace at the beginning of the race.

“We have something to build on during our weekend off and look to keep building going into High Point.”

Nichols will get another chance to continue building momentum when the series heads to Mt. Morris, Pennsylvania on 19 June for round three at High Point Raceway.