Four-time Australian MX1 Motocross Champion Jay Marmont enters the 2013 season in a completely different situation for Monster Energy Kawasaki this year, determined to reclaim the title that he rightfully owned through seasons 2008-2011.

Last year’s outdoor series was a disaster of sorts for the recently-turned 30-year-old without a single podium to his credit, however it’s important to take into account that a series of injuries hampered his title defence aboard the KX450F.

After bouncing back to win the Supercross title with Kawasaki, Marmont is in a much stronger position ahead of this weekend’s season opener at Raymond Terrace, and he’s excited to get the ball rolling. MotoOnline.com.au spoke to him about a variety of MXN topics in today’s Catching Up interview.

It’s the eve of the MX Nationals, but for you, it’s a lot different right now compared to the past four seasons since you no longer have the pressure of defending the championship. How’s everything going?

There are a couple of things that are different, but the biggest thing compared to last year is that I’m not injured. I’m comfortable with the team now, feel comfortable in my surroundings and I have all the boxes ticked. So yeah, I’m ready to go.

You won the Supercross title last year, it’s been a good transition to the 2013 model KX450F, so what’s the major difference that gives you the confidence you can challenge for wins from the start and potentially win this championship back?

There are a few things. I feel like this year I’ve worked on my fitness a lot. To me, I think all the bikes are very similar as far as rider settings go and nobody has an advantage on the track, so I’ve worked very hard on my fitness and I feel like my grit, determination and experience will get me over the line.

I’m not putting too much emphasis on the first few rounds, I just want to try and finish on the box and I’ll be happy with that. We’ll see how we go and build from there.

Last year’s champion Josh Coppins has retired, Ben Townley decided to retire recently as well, and the race for the MX1 title really is wide open. I saw you’re the title favourite on the MX Nationals website Poll, so what’s your opinion? Do you take the competition into consideration much at this point, or is it a case of simply doing your best and seeing where that places you?

Even with Josh and Ben gone, I feel this year is tougher. Obviously KTM is putting in a big effort with Todd Waters, Jake Moss is going quick and there are a bunch of other riders that are going to be there each and every weekend.

If you have a bad weekend this year it could be really bad. There are always guys who will step up for the championship, but I never look at it as any one guy who will go out and win it. It’s going to be a matter of seeing how it plays out.

We’re back to tradition with two-moto formats. Will that be a factor that favours you?

I don’t know really, because it’s been a while since I’ve done two 30s – des Nations in 2010 from memory. It could be harder if you do have one bad moto because you’ll have to answer back in the other, but we’ll see how it goes. I feel it could suit me, I know I won’t fade at all, and my arms have been really good. I have a strong base, so hopefully it works well.

This new GoPro Super Pole format has points on the line and could factor in the series. Is that something you’ve specifically prepared for?

Yeah, I guess the first step is to be top five in practice and qualifying to reach the top five and get a shot in Super Pole. I actually practiced it recently at Raymond Terrace and have almost every time I’ve gone out riding.

It’s not something I really believe in, but something I’ve been working on because we’ll be faced with it no matter what. It’d be good to walk away with five points for pole straight up.

In 2012 you switched from winning four-straight titles with Yamaha over to Kawasaki. There was always the pressure of people saying that if you didn’t win with Kawasaki, it was the wrong decision. Now, you have a Supercross title on the KX450F, so do you feel like not having that cloud hanging over you will make it easier to focus on the job at hand?

Yeah, I turned 30 last week and a lot of people were asking “when are you going to give it up?”. I couldn’t give them an answer, because I feel stronger than I ever have off the bike and I feel really good on the bike at this point. To be honest, I know there will be guys going really good in races, but I know what I can do, so it’s definitely a hard one.

Last year I was at the peak of my career and an injury plagued that – it gave people a chance to say Jay Marmont’s had it, and this or that. Answering back and shutting the critics up was definitely a good thing in Supercross, so now it’s just a matter of going out and not worrying about what anybody else things, it’s just all about the racing and seeing how we go.

Tell us about the air fork that comes on the KX450F now. It seemed to take Ryan Villopoto and the guys in the US some time to dial it in, but he’s now dominating Supercross. This will be your first season on the air fork, so how’s the development going for you guys here in Australia?

Well when I very first put the air fork in I really liked the feeling. With the previous fork, the more you kind of worked with it, the better it got. Whereas with this air fork, it seems like the Japanese know exactly what it does, so if you go away from standard too far you can get into a lot of trouble.

We fell into that trap, so I’ll be honest, people can look at my bike, I’m running stock triple clamps, basically a stock shock and stock forks. I’ve gone back to basically a stock bike and it’s working really well – I’m feeling the advantages.

Thanks for the time mate, appreciate it. See you this weekend!

Thank you guys, looking forward to it.