Port Macquarie’s eighth round of the Motul MX Nationals saw MX1 rookie Luke Clout claim his maiden podium in the premier class, stringing together 5-4 moto scores for third overall.

The result come as no surprise to the Crankt Protein Honda Racing rider, who mentioned he’s been working hard all year long for a podium, with a recent week of testing in Melbourne enhancing his feeling with the CRF450R.

“We’ve been working our bums off, obviously I’ve been training as hard as I’ve ever trained before,” Clout explained to MotoOnline.com.au. “We’ve done some work with the team in the break, and you see Todd [Waters] and I on the podium – it is unreal to be 2-3.

“We thought we needed to do some work, which we really did after Shepparton – we were a bit off. We went down to Melbourne, did some work and had some really good days. I think it showed today, we were solid and the bikes were a lot better.

The New South Welshman believes it’s only the beginning for him, commenting he’ll be heading into the final rounds of Australian motocross with confidence, where he’s aiming to land on the box to finish the season out.

“The progress is really good, but we can’t stop progressing,” he continued. “So I’m going to go home and keep working, the team is going to keep working and we’re going to try and get the bike better. I’m just going to live this up and roll into Toowoomba with confidence.”

“This year the group is so stacked, it’s insane. I knew I could be there, but I kind of had to prove it to myself. Now I’m on the podium – I’ve been [up] there for the last few rounds and I’ve showed really good speed.

“Obviously I am a rookie, so I can be a bit up and down, but to be on the podium is good. Right now I’m just focusing on the task ahead and yeah, just keep progressing and try to get back on the box again.”

Clout sits sixth in the championship standings, with the next round of the Motul MX Nationals scheduled for 13 August, at Toowoomba in Queensland.