Image: MXN.

MX Nationals MX1 number three Todd Waters today confirmed he will represent Australia at the 2016 Monster Energy Motocross of Nations (MXoN) in Maggiora, Italy, as a replacement for the injured Kirk Gibbs.

Waters, who witnessed Gibbs’ supercross training incident which resulted in a broken femur, sympathises for the factory KTM rider as he accepts the role of joining Team Australia alongside Dean Ferris and Jed Beaton (MX2).

“I was actually there the day Kirk hurt himself, so it was definitely an emotional day for everybody,” Waters told MotoOnline.com.au. “I’m good mates with Kirk and I was genuinely stoked to see him go over there, I’ve raced the Motocross of Nations before and Kirk hadn’t had that opportunity yet. Unfortunately that was the way it went and everyone wants to race this event, so it’s a massive opportunity for me, so I am definitely looking forward to going over and racing.”

Already committed to the 2016 Australian Supercross Championship, which overlaps with the 25 September event, the Wilsons Coolair Motul Suzuki rider admits he has a tough task ahead of him to divide his preparations this month.

“It’s going to be a heavy month and I’m trying to prepare myself for that,” he continued. “We’re heavy into supercross testing right now and I’m just trying to get comfortable as I’ve been out of it for so long. I’m just trying to cram six weeks of training and testing into two weeks.”

Looking forward to the additional event in his schedule and with a remarkable podium finish under his belt from last year’s Maggiora MXGP round, Waters will enter the 2016 MXoN event with added confidence.

“I’m really enjoying supercross, it’s fun, but then we’ll be jumping on a plane to Motocross of Nations and I get to enjoy that side of it, so I’m definitely stoked to be going over to represent my country over there,” he explained. “I actually scored a podium at Maggiora when I was racing MXGP, so I’m excited to go back there – it should be good.”

As a last-minute addition to the Australian MXoN rider roster, Waters is yet to confirm the Suzuki team he will pit alongside for the event. The logistics of his representation are being finalised at this point in time.

“It’s obviously hard with the short notice, so we don’t have any confirmation of what we’re doing yet,” Waters added. “We’re just trying to piece things together. Neale [Wilson] and the Australian team manager Gary Benn are working on that side of things, so at this stage I don’t know exactly what is happening.”

The 2016 running will mark Waters’ fourth Motocross of Nations appearance for Australia after representing the country in 2012, 2013 and 2015. It’s not been confirmed whether he will fill Gibbs’ MXGP role at the event or trade places with new national MX1 champion Dean Ferris, who is slated for the Open seat so far.