It may be only week two of the year in operating terms on MotoOnline.com.au, but already we’re seeing the pace rapidly pick up as the holiday season has pretty much past the industry by. From this week, things begin to father momentum in a big way.

The final of the team announcements are trickling through (more on that below from Makker) and Williams Event Management has been keeping us up to date with its latest plans for the 2014 MX Nationals season.

On Monday we had the announcement regarding the series classes (click here to see) and today, probably more importantly to the MX1 and MX2 regulars, WEM confirmed that five rounds will be traditional dual-moto formats, while the remaining five will be triple-moto events (click here to read that).

We have known for quite some time that the moto formats would be revised, but to what extent we weren’t so sure. So to see a combination of 30-minute motos at the traditional rounds and a trio of rapid 20-minute motos at others seems like a good combination.

What’s supposed to happen is that privateers will have a better chance of preparing for and competing in the 20-minute motos. That final 10 minutes of the 30s always seems to be when the going gets tough for the majority, so to split it up into shorter motos should be a neat dynamic to witness.

Image: Simon Makker.

That in itself will create plenty of buzz when the season opens at the end of March, as there always is when the MX Nationals fire into life each year. It’s Australia’s version of A1, albeit not as huge obviously, and outdoors, but still with plenty of hype surrounding the opener.

This morning I spoke to Matt Moss on the phone in California for an interview that will be posted tomorrow, and he was in a really good place following his progression in Phoenix. He’s hoping to stay over there for six rounds now and may not contest the New Zealand outdoors, but has his sights firmly set on defending his MX Nationals title.

Moss said his level of support has been increasing by the week and he actually just bought some 2013 factory-specification Showa suspension this week, so that will be interesting to see if he can make any significant gains with that.

I’m in a mega rush this afternoon after a hectic day at the office, but thanks for stopping by as always. Over to you, Makker…

It was the news we’d all been expecting to hear, but Jay Marmont’s informal announcement that he’d be back with his old CDR team this year still came as a bit of a surprise.

Traditionally Yamaha likes to control its team announcements from head office, but social media is rapidly changing that. Jay picked up his bike on Friday and posted an Instagram image the same day with the caption ‘Back on familiar territory @cdr_yamaha @oakleyaus_nz @foxheadaustralia’.

Needless to say we tracked him down for an interview, which we ran yesterday (click here to read). During our chat (Jay seemed a lot more upbeat than what I’ve seen of him over the past year.

Heading into 2013 after winning the 2012 supercross championship, Marmont thought he was back to his winning ways, but it was only temporary, as he struggled with the field’s pace, team dynamics and bike settings.

After parting ways with Kawasaki late last year, Jay actually didn’t have anything lined up and was even tossing up whether he should call it a day. However, CDR boss and long-time friend Craig Dack stepped up and has offered him a ride alongside his old Kawasaki sparring partner from two years ago, Billy Mackenzie.

Image: Alex Gobert.

Where that leaves Lawson Bopping and Kade Mosig (who rode for CDR during the 2013 supercross season) is anyone’s guess, although Kade told me late last year in very vague terms that he was in the process of locking something away, but refused to elaborate.

Practically all MX1 seats are locked away now, with the exception of one Suzuki ride (if they decide to pit someone alongside defending champ Matt Moss), so we’re crossing our fingers that Boppo finds himself back in yellow.

It’d certainly tie in nicely with the fact he’s been racing Suzuki – and getting a fair bit of airplay – at selected rounds of the AMA Supercross Championship to start the year.

Meanwhile, South Aussie Luke Arbon has suddenly left for the UK for eight weeks to race the UK Arenacross championship. To be honest I didn’t even know such a series existed, but I certainly wish him and Dan McCoy, who has also jetted over, all the best for it!

Well, that’s a wrap for this week. As always, remember to check out all of MotoOnline.com.au’s social networking channels and be sure to Like us on Facebook or Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for even more behind the scenes insights. Just search MotoOnline.