Western Australian Jayden Rykers believes Canberra’s second round of the 2021 Penrite ProMX Championship was a step forward after experiencing an improved performance in the MX1 category.

The Empire Kawasaki talent indicated a number of set-up changes were made to his KX450 in the lead-up to round two, which promoted a new-found confidence on his way to an encouraging seventh in the opening encounter.

The 24-year-old backed up the result with a pair of eighth-place finishes in the back-to-back sprint motos – a format first for 2021 – to secure an improved seventh overall.

“Today was definitely a step forward in comparison to the first round and we took a lot out of this one,” Rykers said. “We’ve made some changes with the bike to suit me more and they’ve worked, although I’d still like to be up toward the front further. All in all, we had a consistent day and it’s more to build from.”

The seventh-place result has elevated Rykers from P8 to P7 in the premier class championship rankings, while the series now heads to Gillman in South Australia for round three of the series on 30 May.