Chad Reed experienced the highs and lows of motorsport at the
weekend’s Motocross des Nations Event at Budds Creek in the
United States, taking second in his first moto but crashing out of
the final.
The Aussie proudly pulled on the green and gold jersey and lined
up alongside Andrew McFarlane and Michael Byrne to contest the
event, a formidable lineup and a realistic chance at contesting for
team honours.
In June, Chad had made a successful one-off return to the AMA
Motocross series at Budds Creek, coming home in third, and this
provided him with a confidence boost heading into the Motocross
of Nations event.
Reed eased into the opening moto, and worked his way into
second place which he comfortably maintained for the duration,
setting some quick lap times in the process. The result was a
good reward, but would be the only highlight of the weekend for
Reed, who was involved in a turn two pileup in the second moto.
Extensive damage to his Yamaha saw Reed forced to retire from
the moto, a disappointing outcome considering his earlier results
and perfect race fitness.
“I feel like I rode quite well. It took me about fifteen minutes to
get going in the first moto, I got into second and rode my own
race,” said Reed. “I was watching Ricky behind me and normally
he comes up pretty strong but this time he didn’t. I felt like I had
a good rhythm and my lap-times were OK,” he said. “I just
wanted to have a good race in my last moto but in the second
turn Ramon jumped on the brakes and I had nowhere to go.
People hit me and I was on the bottom of a pile-up. Once I got
going I struggled to shift gears and that was it.”
His teammates fared no better, with McFarlane injured and out of
the running and Byrne retiring with mechanical dramas.
Reed was pleased to have been a part of the Australian effort and
said representing his home country again was an experience in
itself, regardless of the end result. “There is nothing that makes
you prouder than pulling on the colours of your country. I seemed
to have been hurt for the last five or six years or we have
reached the end of the season and I needed surgery for one
stupid reason or another but it was amazing to be here.” “We had
a great team and it just wasn’t our day today. I just want to get
ready for the Supercross now.” mcnews.com.au
photos from vitalmx.com & motocross.com