When it was revealed that Josh Hansen would be making the trip ‘Down Under’ for this year’s Monster Energy Super X, Australasian Supercross Championship, local fans were excited to see the controversial American in action.

Hansen has made his fair share of headlines of the years, but since coming over for Super X in October, the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki star has stunned observers with his sheer speed and ability to get the job done.

After four rounds of the series gone, laid back 25-year-old Hansen leads the way by a comfortable 32 points heading into Dunedin in New Zealand this weekend, fresh from a breakthrough win at Auckland one week ago.

MotoOnline.com.au gave Hanny a call right as he was about to fly over to New Zealand for this weekend’s race to see how life’s treating him in Australia so far.

Hansen has been impressive since joining travelling to Australia for Super X. Image: Sport The Library.

First of all Hanny, how’s Australia been treating you? It seems like you’re on a roll, but more importantly, you’re having fun doing it!

Yeah, it’s been pretty good. Australia’s been awesome and New Zealand’s been pretty good, so yeah, dude I’m having fun. That’s the main thing, just trying to have fun with it and doing my thing. It’s been great so far.

You’re on the 450 even though you usually ride the Lites in the States, and it seems as though the Super X tracks suit your style. How have you settled in?

For sure the 450 has been good for me. It’s good and I think that it makes for good training before I go back to the States to ride the Lites bike again. It’s definitely been a good change and I’ve been enjoying riding each week on different tracks. I’ve been getting really good starts as well, so it seems like my bike is solid and I’m having a lot of fun.

You’re based in Queensland, the home state of the Kawasaki Racing Team here in Australia, so have you been riding much in between rounds?

Actually, no I haven’t! I’ve been sick so I haven’t been able to ride a whole lot during the week, but I still haven’t been feeling too bad on the weekends when we go race.

Do you think these mixed formats we do in Super X will help you when you go home as far as intensity goes? Or could they hinder you more than anything?

It helps you learn to be consistent in the races, but I don’t know – I think it’s got its pros and cons about it. You get wrapped up in doing the short races, so maybe a lot more laps are going to seem really long when I get back home. But at the same time, we’re sprinting the whole time so it can definitely help you get faster on the bike in a race situation.

Hansen has not only been fast, but surprisingly consistent in Super X to run away with the series to date. Image: Sport The Library.

And how’s life on the Gold Coast been treating you? It’s gotta be good fun hanging out up there for your trip to Australia…

Oh yeah, it’s been awesome. It’s always warm and I’ve got the beach right out front, so I usually do some Baywatch stuff and run down the beach without my shirt on. I wear super short shorts, do some stretches and stuff, so the people up there can just see my whole body type, if you will [laughs].

Sounds like we’ll have to get some cameras up there to check you out bud! You also went down to the Melbourne Cup, so what was that like for an American guy like yourself?

Yeah, it was good, although I kinda wish I could be a horse racer because those guys have such hot chicks at the races and they probably make a lot more money then we do… [laughs]. It was cool though, something different and a new experience for sure.

Finally, just how much would a Super X number one plate here in Australia mean to you? It would have to be a big confidence booster heading into A1 in January.

Definitely, I’ve been laying groundwork as far as fitness and race speed goes, so it means a lot to me. Every race I go to I want to win, so my goal is definitely to win the championship and also win back in the States when we get there too.

First things first, I want to finish out here being safe and sound, putting each race together while I’m learning and moving forward each week – those are my goals.

Alright cool, thanks a lot and good luck for this weekend.

Cool man, thanks!