Image: East Mount Studio.

Popular talent Hayden Mellross will draw upon his American experience as he plots his attack on the Pirelli MX Nationals MX1 championship, which kicks off this weekend at Appin in New South Wales.

The New South Welshman particularly spent majority of time racing supercross in America, however the youthful talent campaigned in select rounds of the 2016 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship in the premier class.

The intensity is a key characteristic that the Raceline KTM contender is hoping to capitalise on, as he faces off against a highly-competitive and well-credential field this season.

“I’m a racer, so I’m going into any championship – regardless if I’m the favourite or underdog – I’m going into win,” Mellross explained to MotoOnline.com.au. “Yeah, that’s going to be a huge ask each and every weekend because the riders we have in the MX1 class are quite talented.

“We may have lost Dean Ferris – arguably one of the best motocross racers we have – but we also have a lot riders that have come back, like Todd Waters. Waters, [Brett] Metcalfe and [Kirk] Gibbs have been racing the championship for so long, and I think racing against these veterans will be the biggest challenge.

“Using my experience from America – I didn’t get a whole lot of motocross in there, but it’s race experience with intensity. I’m going out there to win, and that’s what my team expects of me. Being a 10-round series, I just want to stay consistent – I think I’ve shown that in my pro career here in in Australia.”

Confirmed has KTM’s factory outfit, the Raceline operation will also field Jy Roberts in MX2 and Regan Duffy in MXD this year.