Off-road ace Josh Strang has been based in the United States for over five years, firstly in the Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) series with Suzuki and then last year in the WORCS (World Off Road Championship Series) aboard a private KTM team.

Still just 24, Strang has persevered in the US despite a struggling economy, and for 2013 he plans to head back to the GNCC series that he won in 2010 aboard a privateer Kawasaki.

It’s a gamble to get his career on track for Strang, struggling to gain traction since 2011 when he suffered a broken leg and then had the factory Suzuki off-road team close down following that season.

MotoOnline.com.au caught up with Strang this afternoon in California to speak about his new deal and more in today’s edition of Catching Up. We have a feeling the best is yet to come from the determined Aussie.

You’re planning on racing again in America for 2013, so give us an update on that and how things are coming along for you?

Yeah, well 2012 was not the best year for me, so I was trying to figure out what to do for 2013 and I decided to head back and go GNCC racing again. There’s not many options as far as getting rides and getting paid goes, so I’ve ended up going out on my own and I’ve got a title sponsor from Rocky Mountain ATV/MC.

So I’ve got them behind me this year as a title sponsor and they’re helping foot the bill to get me racing. I’ve purchased my first bike and I’m just waiting to hear if Kawasaki will help out and get me a couple more for the year. If not, I guess I’ll just be buying bikes for the rest of the year with the Rocky Mountain money and going racing.

So yeah, it’s a bit of a change, I’ve got to rent my house out here in California and move back east so I can go racing, because I’ll be doing it by myself. So that’s definitely a bit different to the last few years, but it’s actually pretty exciting, so I’m looking forward to it.

It’s been a couple of years now since you won the GNCC championship, and you spent the season last year in the WORCS series aboard a KTM. It seems like over here in America that it really is difficult to get a ride and all the teams are either closing down altogether or downsizing dramatically. It certainly makes it tough for you guys to build a career out of it, doesn’t it?

Yeah, it’s not like the early 2000s anyway, where you could make a good living doing off-road – it’s a bit tough at the moment. The economy is supposed to turn around, but I think it’s going to take a while.

I’ll try tough it out and try get sponsors like Rocky Mountain, Moose and Maxxis, who are helping me out again this year. If I keep finding good sponsors like that who will support off-road and put money into it, then I’ll be alright for a couple of years. It’s definitely difficult.

You’re known as one of Australia’s best off-road guys, you went really well at the ISDE, but what is it about America that makes you want to stay here and keep going, rather than maybe go to Europe or return to Australia? Is GNCC just something that you’re a big fan of – what is it that attracts you to America?

I don’t know, now the States is kind of like my home. I left Australia so early, I’ve got my family there, but I didn’t have a lot at home. I left so young and I’ve turned the States into my home. This is where I live pretty much year round, so that’s one of the reasons why it’s good to stay here.

I enjoy the racing and I’m still making a living doing it, but I’m interested in racing in Europe for sure. It would have been easier to go when I had nothing in Australia and was fresh leaving the country, but we’ll see. I’ve looked into Europe briefly, it’s something I’m interested in and I’d like to have a go at.

But I’m at the point now where I can’t race for free, where six years ago I could have raced for bikes and parts, so I’ve got to look at it as my job and my career. So if something worked out in Europe I’d definitely like to go there and even Australia, I’d come back to race. I feel I could come back to race in Australia when I’m finished in America.

So as far as racing goes, I’m happy here in America and I think I’d enjoy Europe, but it’s just hard to organise. I think they’re in a similar situation to here, as far as rides, where it’s the top five guys getting paid and getting good money, then after that it drops off quite a bit to where people are riding for free. So it’s just difficult trying to figure it all out.

Last year you were racing on the west coast in your first year doing the WORCS series, you were on a small KTM team, and you entered the series with an injury from the year before. So entering this season, do you think you can get some momentum on your side? Can we expect to see Josh Strang up there challenging for this championship if you can get the team structure together and everything in place?

Yeah, I already feel better on the bike compared to what I did last year with my injury. After the Six Day I had more surgery on my leg, I had the rod removed because it was giving me problems. So I had that fixed up and my leg is back to normal now finally after 12 months – it took a long time, but it’s fixed finally.

After I realised I was doing all of this on my own, I went out and rode all of the bikes that I figured I’d want to ride, and I fit the Kawasaki the best. Straight away, as soon as I bought it I was happy that I was on that motorcycle. I’ve got 30 hours on the bike in just under a month, so I’ve been riding a lot and I feel good.

The plan is to go and win races in the GNCC and win another championship this year, so I don’t expect anything less and I’ll be disappointed with anything less – hopefully it all goes to plan.

Kawasaki is a brand that you spent a lot of time on earlier in your career, so it must feel like you’re going back to where it began in a way?

Yeah it is, I rode one from KX60 days all the way through until I left to come over here in 2007, so I’ve been on a green bike for a long time and they feel very similar to the Suzuki. I felt really good straight away.

I’m happy about the change and now it’s just putting all the pieces of the puzzle together and getting it all situated. I think it will be a pretty cool deal and a bit of a struggle this year, but I think I’ve got some good people behind me and once we get it all setup I think it will be pretty good.