The 30-year-old has a great amount of respect for her competitors and is optimistic but realistic about her chances of winning.
"Jess Stone is over from England and is probably by far the favourite. She's a top 10 World Cup rider who is down here for our summer's racing,"
Laird's fiance Cam Cole will also be in action this weekend in the elite men's race, having finished second behind British rider Kerr at Bluff, and will be hoping to go one better.
"We always have little competitions amongst ourselves, like if I finish within a minute of his time then I win. I normally set the time so that I just beat him which really frustrates him," said Laird.
"He's really good to ride and race with. I've learned a lot from him, especially since he's so calm and collected when he's racing."
Round three of the downhill mountain bike series will be in Levin on February 2-3.