During the 2010 Australian Motocross and Supercross seasons, American riders took out three of the four national Pro Open and Lites titles to be won thanks to the accomplishments of Josh Hansen and PJ Larsen.

For this year there’s a new talent imported from the States to take on Australia’s best, with the new-look Monster Energy Kawasaki team signing New York rider Phil Nicoletti.

Nicoletti finished eighth in last year’s West Coast regional AMA Supercross Lites series, taking six top 10 finishes in eight rounds with a season best of sixth at Anaheim III.

In last year’s AMA Nationals Nicoletti finished 22nd overall, his best result coming at Pala’s final round where he went 11-13 for 11th overall on a privateer KTM.

MotoOnline.com.au called the 22-year-old to welcome him to Australia and also to see what his expectations are for the year ahead after less than a week in Queensland.

American Phil Nicoletti has signed for the Monster Energy Kawasaki team to race in Australia for 2011.

First of all Phil, welcome to Australia, it must be a different step in your career, but also an exciting one for 2011 with Monster Kawasaki…

Yeah, I’m super excited. It’s a different path, but it’s going to be a good path for me. It’s a new start, a new beginning to a lot of different stuff. I’m meeting great people and everybody at Monster Energy Kawasaki of Australia has been great.

It’s a great opportunity for me and even an awesome life experience.

We saw your fellow American Josh Hansen win the Super X title for Kawasaki here last year, but what was it exactly that made you want to come and spend a season in Australia?

I met [Monster Energy Kawasaki team manager] Troy Carroll at the end of 2009 in California and ever since then we’ve been staying in touch monthly. You know, he was a big part of me coming over here – he’s an awesome guy and a real straight shooter.

Troy’s the kind of guy I look for, just 100 percent honest with me in everything he has said he was going to do. That’s a big part for me and it has a lot to do with me being comfortable, especially since I’ve come all the way across the world away from friends and family.

To have somebody like that makes a huge difference.

Last year we saw PJ Larsen come to America, a rider many in Australia hadn’t really heard too much about before he came and won two Lites titles, so is that the benchmark for you?

I’ve known PJ for a lot of years and he’s always been fast, it just happened that he came down here and made a name for himself in Australia. The Super X and Nationals are getting quite a lot of recognition, so it’s an opportunity for anyone to come and ride.

PJ had a bad year in the States when he first turned pro and everybody kind of overlooked him, so I guess it is a good way to get out and make a name for yourself over here to make people look at you.

Nicoletti finished a solid eighth in the West Coast regional AMA Supercross Lites series last year.

You arrived last Wednesday – I was actually on the same flight as you from LA – so how are you enjoying it up there in Queensland?

I’m loving it! Because I’m from New York I guess you could say the weather is like the East Coast and it’s pretty green here as well, not like California where it’s all desert. I’ve been having an awesome time so far, plus I love the food here – McDonalds is even 10 times better here than it is in the States [laughs].

So yeah, everything is going well and I have no complaints at all. I’ve been welcomed with open arms and am just looking forward to the first round.

Have you been able to ride since you’ve been out here yet?

Yeah, I went over to Robbie Marshall’s track and that was my first time on the bike. I’d been riding KTMs over in the States so it was different, but I had fun and we were able to make some changes.

We’ll make some more coming into the first round and I’m going to be 100 percent confident in the team and the bike. It’s an awesome set up and a very good program.

I guess you would have heard of the Moss twins, but not really many other of your competitors for this year. What are your expectations for 2011 – can you win?

I mean, the idea is for me to get a championship. I don’t know if Jake Moss is riding in the Lites or not, but I know Matt hauls butt down here and I’m on his home turf. I’m just taking it round by round because there are a lot of points that can be won or lost at each round.

The goal is to be on the box each weekend and going for the W.

Okay then Phil, well thanks for your time and we look forward to watching you in action at Broadford next month.

Yeah thanks, I appreciate it. I just want to thank Monster Energy Kawasaki and the whole team that are supporting us, it’s greatly appreciated.