Defending three-time Australian Motocross Champion Jay Marmont proved to himself he has what it takes to win in 2011 at Raymond Terrace on Sunday, and he’s certain it’ll be a real confidence booster for proceeding rounds.

CDR Rockstar Energy Yamaha’s Marmont enjoyed his best weekend of the Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals season yet when he scored a race win and second overall last weekend.

Marmont, who turned 28 on the Friday leading up to the round, continues to build momentum as he shoots for a fourth straight title this season, and he wrapped up round three with 5-3-3-1 results across the four 20-minute motos.

“I was happy with the weekend considering we had a couple of problems in the opening races,” Marmont said. “It wasn’t anything mechanically wrong with the bike, just a rock had split the hydraulic line and I had no clutch in the first race. I wasn’t sure what was wrong, but I was able to finish the race.

“I had to switch to my ‘B’ bike in race two and we didn’t have my latest settings in the shock on the bike, plus it had the cable clutch instead of the hydraulic system we’ve been using. I was leading the race, but eventually finished third as I adapted to riding the spare bike.

“In the third race I had another great start and [Dean] Ferris came past me in the second corner, then Josh [Coppins] went to the front and I ended up third. In the last race I got a good start and tried to run my own race.

“That’s what happened – I got a good start and had a good lead. Josh reeled me in when I caught the lapped riders, but I was able to maintain my lead and pull off the win.”

While admitting that he’s determined to win additional races, fan favourite Marmont is taking positives from what was the third of nine rounds to be contested this season.

“I would obviously like to get more wins, but a positive from the weekend is that I proved to myself that I can win,” he added.

“It was really good to get good starts and win that final race of the weekend. Now we’ll keep working and see what Murray Bridge has in store.”

With his result, Marmont has climbed to third in the standings despite finishing ninth at last month’s season opener in Victoria, 29 points in arrears of teammate and Raymond Terrace winner Josh Coppins.

The season will now take a three-week break before resuming at Murray Bridge in South Australia on Sunday, 8 May.