Nine of the country's fastest privateers are ready to race round 1 of the MX Nationals this coming weekend in Newry, Victoria.

The all-new Honda Genuine backed 'Ride Red' race program will come to life as Joel Whiteman, Ricky and Lock Latimer, Rhys Budd, Caleb Goullet, Joel Green, James Alen, Lachie Davis and Izak Maule are set to compete across their classes in the 2018 Pirelli MX Nationals.

Honda's Brand and Motorsport manager Glyn Griffiths looks forward to the weekend; "We really wanted to back some of the nation's best privateers and give them a chance to achieve their dreams.  We will be trackside watching and I want to wish our guys, the organisers and all of the competitors the best of luck."

All team riders are eager to demonstrate their talents after rigorous pre-season training and testing in preparation for the first round.

Joel Whiteman understands it's a long championship but notes you cannot give anything away; "Each point counts, your bad days need to be your good days and your good days need to be your great days," said Wightman.

New to Honda are the Latimer brothers, Ricky and Lochie, both are extremely excited to compete in Australia's biggest championship on Honda's all new CRF250R.

"My brother and I still can't believe we are racing with Honda support, it's a dream come true.  The bike is awesome and the people are great.  We have been working hard in the off season and look forward to racing this weekend," said Ricky.

For more information on the MX NATIONALS visit: www.mxnationals.com.au