Image: Octopi Media.

A ‘frustrated’ Colt Nichols was left to recover for 16th position in Glendale after being caught up in the multi-rider first-turn incident, the Twisted Tea Suzuki rider targeting improved track position in the 450SX main events.

Nichols was part of the crash that included Quad Lock Honda’s Christian Craig and Eli Tomac (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) to start the main event at State Farm Stadium, which made for a long night in Arizona after remounting toward the rear of the pack.

Ahead of only Tomac and teammate Jason Anderson on lap one – who experienced his own separate first turn crash – the 31-year-old posted a recovery ride that would see him claim his fourth-consecutive P16 result by race’s end.

“I crashed in the first turn,” recounted Nichols. “I tried to do everything I could to come back, but the field was pretty spread out, not like in a big group, and I just couldn’t really do anything with it. So, P16 for the night.

“I’m frustrated. I want to get out of the gate better and try to put myself in a better position. I’m sick of being back there… just the result of being in the back of the pack, being stuck, and running into guys and crashing.

“We just need to be better out of the gate, straight up. But my riding’s a lot better, I’m improving every weekend through practice and the heats – I’ve just got to be better in the main.”

Team principal for the Twisted Tea Suzuki outfit Dustin Pipes added: “Jason and Colt rode extremely well. The results didn’t show it, but first-turn wrecks had both guys in 20th and 21st. Jason’s times were comparable to the top-five and, I think if we wouldn’t have fallen, that’s where he would have finished. Colt would’ve been right around the top 10.”

After five rounds of Supercross racing in 2026, Nichols is currently listed 16th overall, with a season-high score of 12th coming at the season-opener in Anaheim. He’s finished in P16 at every race since.