Image: Octopi Media.

Teenage prospect Tiger Wood returned to the SMX Next podium at SMX Playoff 2 in St. Louis, with improved starts leading the Australian to a 3-6 scorecard across the weekend and P3 overall in the series.

The Phoenix Honda Racing rider experienced a challenging stretch of races following his maiden SMX Next podium in Birmingham, with a 10th in Pittsburgh followed by three consecutive races outside the top 10 during Pro Motocross.

A third-place ride during Friday’s SMX Next main event – which was a substitute race after the category missed out in Charlotte due to weather – was backed up by P6 in Saturday’s outing, earning the 18-year-old third overall in the SMX Next World All-Stars Championship.

“Man, a big part of this improvement is just the starts!” commented Wood after Friday’s podium. “Getting my starts dialled has been a real key to my racing – I took a gamble lining up on the outside, but it paid off, and I am super stoked with how my race went.

“Thank you to the team for the hard work all season through the highs and the lows. I am stoked to finish strong with an overall podium.”

Wood contested the SMX Next category in America this year, joining the Phoenix Honda Racing program following a standout fifth-place performance at his first event in Daytona.