Following his 2013 Under 19s Terex Australian Supercross Championship win, Kale Makeham began preparations to make his MX2 debut at round one of the 2013 Monster Energy MX Nationals in Raymond Terrace.

After earning himself an outstanding third overall on debut at round one, it became evident that the two-stroke mounted rider been putting in the work during his off-season back home in Koondrook, Victoria.

MotoOnline.com.au caught up with the 19-year-old to chat about his stellar performance, see what he thought of the MX2 competition and to find out more about his unique deal with KTM Australia for this season.

Kale Makeham suprised many with his round one performance, including himself. Image: Simon Makker/Makkreative.com.

Firstly, congratulations on your third overall at Raymond Terrace’s season opener. How did it feel to be standing on the box on debut in the MX2 class?

Thanks mate, I definitely didn’t expect it considering where I was 12 months ago – I think I was struggling to crack the top 10 in Under 19s. So it was pretty unexpected, but we’d been doing a lot of work.

I knew what had to be done and we had put in the work that’s for sure. We have a good setup, I’ve got good people around me and there was no reason why not. So it definitely wasn’t expected, but I’m pretty happy with it.

With the likes of Luke Styke, Josh Cachia and Kade Mosig to contend with – Kale Makeham definitely wasn’t being thrown out there as a solid podium guy in lead up to round one. Did you expect to come out and put in such a solid performance on your first outing?

Honestly, I thought the guys like Mosig, Styke and Cachia would blow me away. I knew I’d be good against the rest of the field, but those three, I just thought they’d blow me away.

I’ve never actually raced them before, I’ve always been in the Under 19s and I had never done a 30-minute moto before in a race – so I really had no idea what to expect.

But it was pretty good feeling when I was up there passing Josh and battling with Mosig and all of them guys. It was pretty surreal for me and I didn’t expect it, that’s for sure.

How was it to go head-to-head with the best of the MX2 class and what did you feel were the biggest differences between the MX2 and MXD classes?

The intensity. At the start, it was really intense – if you’re not flat out for those first five laps, you can go back pretty fast. So I was pretty surprised with the intensity from the start, especially with Styke, he was on a mission in those first couple of laps. That blew me away.

Other than that, as far as the competition went, once I was out there it was all pretty smooth. Nothing was too unexpected like that, I just didn’t expect to be where I was, that was all.

Makeham obviously keeps his riding fun with a Ronnie Mac inspired goon air over the finish line to celebrate. Image: Simon Makker/Makkreative.com.

You’re the top two-stroke rider in the MX2 class and you obviously feel comfortable on that bike. What is it like to ride the 250 two-stroke against the factory 250 four-stroke bikes?

I feel like I’ve got a great setup, I’m really blessed with what I’ve got. Obviously the two-strokes in the power department they’ve got an advantage there. But in the setup, they have a little bit of a downfall against the four-strokes.

But I’m really lucky that I’ve got Steve Jones from TuneTech racing that does all of my suspension and we do countless hours of testing. I feel like the setup I’ve got is really solid, it suits me and it suits a two-stroke.

So as far as that goes, two-stroke versus four-stroke, I’m really happy with what I’ve got. Obviously there are the advantages and disadvantages, but I feel like it’s pretty even for the most part.

You gained backing from KTM Australia for 2013, how much has that helped with your program and what exactly do they provide you with?

Without the support I’ve got from KTM this year I definitely wouldn’t be racing, it was pretty much impossible without their support. They’ve helped me out with incentive and sign on, especially the bike and the parts budget – without all of that, it would have been really hard to go racing.

So that took a lot of weight off of my shoulders and it was really unexpected, the deal they offered me – especially with the two-stroke ride, I couldn’t believe the amount of support they were giving me.

Also the amount of freedom that I have to do my personal deals and all the stuff like that is great. So I’ve definitely got some great support there and I’m really appreciative of everything they do for me at KTM.

Finally, heading into this weekend’s round two at Murray Bridge, do you feel that you can back up that solid round one performance or even improve on it?

I’m just going there with a clear headspace, I’ve got no expectations and nothing is really any different from round one for me. I’ve got my team around me, good bikes, good setup and I enjoy the track there at Murray Bridge.

We’re just going to go in and give it our best. We work hard and all we can do is give it our best – fortunately enough for us that’s top three. I think we’ve got a lot to prove, but I feel like I always do being the underdog privateer rider. So for me, I’ll just go in there, give it my all and hopefully end up on the box.