STOURBRIDGE motocross star Steven Clarke is determined to get his Garmin Arenacross challenge back on track following a disastrous showing in Liverpool last week.

Clarke suffered a nightmare time and didn't even manage to qualify for the main event.

As a result, Clarke he has slipped back to fifth place in the overall standings and desperately needs to repair that damage when the roadshow heads to Newcastle on Sunday.

Clarke, who lives in Wollaston, admitted: “I made a few mistakes in Liverpool and let myself down a bit while losing quite a lot of points in the process.

“I need to put that right in Newcastle and start clawing some of those points back."

Clarke has left nothing to chance this week and has been taking part in with some intense training which included a three-hour bike ride amidst a punishing routine as he attempts to get back in the running, especially as there’s a total prize fund of £100,000 on offer.

He claimed: “It was a combination of silly little mistakes and bad luck in Liverpool. The track wasn’t that good and very tight, which left little margin for error, and now I’ve put pressure on myself." “.

Clarke is up against some of the best riders in Europe and further afield. He realises he willo hgave to be at his best in Newcastle, which represents the fifth of seven events on the tour.

The Stourbridge rider had made a breathtaking start to the tour and was locked together in top spot with Frenchman Fabien Izoird after the first two events in Belfast.

Following a successful time as a Junior, he became a professional motocross rider and went to the USA in 2009 to further his career.

The Garmin Arenacross has been playing to packed houses across the country, with more than 7,000 people turning up for the stage at Birmingham’s LG Arena.