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CHAD REED
450 SX / A2
IMAGE / MPG WORDS / HARNISHFEGER DESIGN / WILSON
>> Chad Reed was happy to be back with ol’ blue this offseason. He was a key cog in the return of the infamous Factory Yamaha team where the two shared so much success during the better part of his career. Now that they reunited, many expected Reed to come back and be an immedi- ate challenger for wins again despite his aging body. Although he has not quite hit those high expectations, Reed is on the verge of that threshold. Like he has the past few years, Reed has started the season off fairly slow. Just chugging along and growing stronger at each round. This weekend at A2 he put down the twelfth fastest lap time in practice and was hoping to find some of his old A2 magic he used in his win just three years prior. Reed was able to transfer straight to the main event through his heat race by finishing third. It was not easy as the Aussie had to work through a big battle involving Musquin, Anderson and Seely. Everyone at Angel Stadium was hoping for a holeshot from “The Thunder from Down Under” hoping that would spark a classic performance but he struggled yet again off the start rounding lap one in ninth. He held that position for quite some time before passing Malcolm Stewart several laps in and pick- ing up an extra spot due to the Roczen crash. Sitting in seventh halfway through, he started to feel pressure from Tomac who would muscle his way by. But showing the young kid that the old man still had strength, Reed mounted a late race charge to pass Tomac back and secure sev- enth place overall. His best finish of the year and he has now improved position at each race so far this season.
22 GRITMOTO • JANUARY 22, 2017