Image: Jeremy Hammer (Foremost Media).

DPH Motorsport Yamaha’s Hayden Mellross believes his private New South Wales-based supercross track is definitely beneficial in his preparations for the 2017 Australian Supercross Championship.

Mellross, who just returned to Australia from the MXGP of USA in Florida, said the ability to tailor his track to American styled supercross circuits plays as an advantage when contesting round domestically, which are commonly known to be mellow in comparison.

“I think it is beneficial for sure to have a great supercross track,” Mellross told MotoOnline.com.au. “For me, I’ve spent a lot of time in the US racing supercross, so I’ve experienced the American supercross tracks first hand.

“When I come back and my brother helps build the track, I can kind of walk the track and tell him that this is different or what he can change. I feel like having that in our back pocket makes it better because training on tracks that are more technical, steeper and demanding is beneficial when you go to a race here in Australia where the tracks aren’t as challenging.

“I think having a supercross track and that luxury is a huge, huge positive for myself. It is something we’ve worked on hard for the last 3-4 years to develop too.”

The youthful rider came agonisingly close to capturing the 2016 SX2 title until a mechanical failure denied him of the opportunity at the final round, however he bounced back to record a number of career-best finishes in the highly-regarded Monster Energy AMA Supercross 250 West Championship this year.

Mellross commented that despite just landing in Australia on Sunday, his supercross preparation is going smoothly, with plans in place to commence further developments on the YZ250F with the DPH squad in Victoria this weekend.

“Everything has been well,” he continued. “I haven’t been able to do any testing as yet, the weather hasn’t been ideal down in Melbourne, but I have pretty good base in suspension from last year. I’ve brought a few little things to develop from the states too.

“So hopefully when I go down to Melbourne this weekend for testing we can develop it a little more and get an even better package than what we already have. Everything has been well getting back into supercross, and I’m just enjoying being home, training during the day and being able to see the family at night.”

The opening round of the 2017 Australian Supercross Championship is set to be hosted by Jimboomba X Stadium, scheduled for 23 September.