Honda HRC’s Colt Nichols performed better than he expected during the opening round of Monster Energy AMA Supercross on Jan. 7.
In his 450SX class debut on the red No. 45 steed, Nichols finished sixth at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif. This came after he secured an 11th-hour deal with Honda HRC on the heels of Ken Roczen’s departure from the team last fall.
Amid the flurry of conjecture surrounding Roczen’s switch from Honda to the Suzuki squad, Nichols quietly capitalized on the opportunity and signed a Supercross-only contract with the factory Honda operation.
Still, the 2021 250SX East champion entered this season with a chip on his shoulder.
Last year, Nichols’ campaign ended abruptly when he suffered two arm injuries in a crash during the season opener.
When the Oklahoma native was gearing up for Anaheim this January, it had been nearly a year since he was last competitive. On top of that, he was a rookie entering a stacked 450SX class, which is always bound to come with its fair share of challenges.
“When you miss gate drops for that long, while everyone else is getting better and I’m sitting on the couch, it’s kind of tough,” Nichols said.
In light of that, a sixth-place finish in Anaheim was a positive start in Nichols’ books.
“We wanted to continue the trend,” Nichols said. “But after A1, I knew it was going to get harder before it got easier.”
While the No. 45 rider was hoping to string together a series of top-10 finishes, the next few races didn’t go according to plan. His average finish over the last five rounds has been 11.4 — which he calls “sub par.”
“Starts weren’t there, I was kind of dealing with some nagging stuff health-wise and I straight up just wasn’t riding very good,” Nichols said. “I feel like I can do a lot better than where we’ve been, but it’s one race at a time.”
The 28-year-old’s goal is to start riding to his full potential. It begins by pushing the envelope during the first 10 minutes of the main event to keep up with the lead pack — namely Nichols’ teammate Chase Sexton and Star Racing Yamaha’s Eli Tomac.
From there, it’s an all-out mission for Nichols to consistently prove he belongs in the 450SX class.
“I’m in a weird spot, kind of. To get this opportunity was huge, but at the same time, I’m in a rebuilding year,” Nichols said. “I want to show that I can do it, but I also need to be patient and try not to move too quick. Getting the experience and being at all the races, that’s No. 1.”