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CHAD REED
450 SX / 7TH
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / KILPATRICK DESIGN / WILSON
>> Chad Reed rode his last race as a thirty-four year old at Daytona International Speedway last weekend. The fan favorite, two-time champion, and oldest rider in
the field to consistently make the main event every weekend hasn’t had the most successful season by his expectations. The Australian born veteran set his sights on competing for the title before the 2017 Monster Energy Supercross season began, but he has only managed to land on the podium one time. Reed has now set his goals on becoming the oldest rider to win a main event in the premier class -- a record that is currently held by the Geico Honda Team Manager, Mike LaRocco. The Yamaha rider has not been able to meet his expectations in qualifying throughout most rounds of the season thus far and the eleventh round of the series at Lucas Oil Stadium was no different. Reed struggled to find the flow in qualifying and was only able to lay down the fourteenth fastest lap time heading into the night show, leaving himself some work to do during the break between practice and racing. He got off to a solid start in the opening 450 heat race as he found himself in the last transfer po- sition once the field settled into the race and he immediately began to undergo some intense pressure from the reigning champion, Ryan Dungey. Reed was able to utilize his experienced race craft in order to keep the KTM rider behind him, but Dungey was faster through the middle of the track. The Yamaha veteran used defensive lines and a bit of hard-nosed racing in order to keep him at bay, fighting off an attempt after the first triple in which he squared up the Red Bull KTM superstar, taking back the transfer position. Reed was able to maintain the transfer spot all the way to the checkered flag to the delight the Indianapolis crowd, providing himself with a solid gate pick for the main event. The Australian replicated his start in the main as he
sat right around fifth position coming out of the opening corner. He remained there for the opening lap, but immediately encountered some unfortunate circumstances that left him with a broken visor. Reed subsequently fell victim to a pair of passes by Davi Millsaps and Cole Seely, placing him in seventh position with about seventeen minutes to go in the main event. He was able to keep his Yamaha in front of Justin Bogle and a gap began to develop on both sides of him throughout the next couple of laps. From that point onward, the thirty-five year old rode a fairly processional race in which he cruised home to a seventh place finish, undoubtedly leaving him wanting more heading into the twelfth round in Detroit.
28 GRITMOTO • MARCH 19, 2017