Australia's Jay Marmont looks forward to his debut as part of Team Australian in this weekend's MXoN.

Team Australia’s Jay Marmont is in a confident mood on the eve of this weekend’s Motocross of Nations event at the Thunder Valley Motocross Park in Colorado, USA, hopeful that the team can pick up an overall podium come Sunday, 26 September.

The three-time Pro Open MX Nationals Australian Motocross Champion will represent Australia for the first time in his career in the event widely considered as the Olympic Games of motocross, looking forward to the challenge that awaits him this weekend.

“I flew into Colorado on Wednesday to get a feel for everything here,” 27-year-old Marmont explained. “It’s definitely a lot higher in altitude here than what I’ve ever raced in before, but I’ve been running for the last few days and am feeling really good. I’ve found that breathing is a lot harder up here – we’re at over 6000 feet in elevation here.”

The CDR Rockstar Energy Yamaha team rider has been able to visit the Thunder Valley complex this week in the lead-up to the event, excited to partner AMA Motocross number two Brett Metcalfe and Dean Ferris in the green and gold for Team Australia.

“The track looks really good, so I’m just looking forward to getting out there in the race,” Marmont continued. “There’s just so much hype around this race and I can’t wait to get out there against the best riders in the world, doing it for myself and also for my country.”

Marmont has been based in Southern California for almost three weeks leading up to the MXoN event, using the time to prepare on some of the world’s most famous motocross tracks alongside fellow world-class riders.

“It’s been really good riding over here and the first time in a few years that I’ve been able to have fun on the bike without the pressure of racing for a championship,” he explained. “In California it’s been just a matter of going out there and enjoying the track and also my riding. Everywhere I’ve gone I have been the quickest rider consistently. I’m feeling really good on the bike.”

Speaking of his expectations this weekend, Marmont acknowledges that the Australian team enters this weekend as an underdog of sorts against the likes of Team USA, and a host of talented European nations.

“I think Australia is the underdog going into this race and a lot of people are writing us off,” he said. “A lot of people don’t even know who Dean Ferris is over here, while so many haven’t seen me ride in the last few years over here either. Brett Metcalfe is riding solid at the moment though, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he went out there and won the day. He’s really confident, a passionate bloke and I know that he wants to do well for our country.

“If Brett can get a top three result, plus if I can get a top five to top 10 result, and Dean can be around that same area, then I think we have a good shot for a podium position overall. It’s a long shot, but we all just want to do what we have to do. We can’t leave anything on the table, we need to go out and ride the races of our lives and see what happens at the end of the day.”