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SUPERSTAR CHAD REED TO RACE IN AUSTRALIA THIS NOVEMBER!
Reed heads Aussie line up in the Yamaha Oceania Motocross Championships & commits to campaign to save Barrabool track
Australia’s motorcycle racing superstar Chad Reed will compete on home soil this year, heading the Aussie line-up at November 12-13’s clash between New Zealand and Australia in the Yamaha Oceania Motocross Championships (Yamaha OMCX), to be staged at the infamous Barrabool track at McAdam Park (near Geelong, Victoria). It will be Reed’s only appearance on an Australian race track this year.
The confirmation of 23 year old Reed is not only a boon for local spectators - who haven’t seen the $10 m a year Yamaha factory pilot compete locally since the 2001 world 250cc motocross round at Broadford in Victoria - but also for the gate takings of event organizers the Sporting Motorcycle Club (SMCC).
Reed has thrown his weight behind the SMCC’s mission to save the much loved Barrabool track at McAdam Park, with the club hoping a profitable event will generate the finances to purchase the property from the family of the late Clive McAdam.
“It’s been too long since I’ve raced motocross in Australia, and I can’t wait to come back and compete against all my Australian mates. We need to put those Kiwis in their place,” said Reed, speaking from his home in Dade City, Florida.
“To lose a motocross track like McAdam Park would be disastrous, so I’ll also be doing what I can to help the club save it.”
“It will be a serious hit out for me, racing against the Kiwis as the tough competition will be instrumental in preparing me for the 2006 American supercross season, which starts in early January.”
“Hopefully a big crowd will show up and I’d like nothing better than to beat the Kiwis as part of a winning Australian combination.”
Since leaving Australian shores at the end of 2000, the prolific Reed has fast-tracked his way to stardom, first in Europe and then in the toughest motocross and supercross medium of them all – America.
He reached the summit in 2004 when he clinched the prestigious AMA 250cc Supercross Championship on a Yamaha. That kind of success has now propelled him to Australia’s fourth highest earning sportsperson behind golfer Greg Norman, soccer player Harry Kewell and tennis star Lleyton Hewitt.
Reed, originally from Kurri Kurri in NSW, scythed through the 2004 title, winning 10 of the 16 rounds, as well as picking up a cool $US100,000 ($A132,700) for claiming the season-ending US Open Supercross in Las Vegas.
Reed finished second in this year’s AMA supercross title behind arch-rival Ricky Carmichael, and he currently holds the same position in the corresponding motocross championship, which concludes in California on September 11. Reed’s other career highlights include a second place in the world 250cc motocross title in 2001, and his crowning as world supercross champion two years later.
The Yamaha OMXC, which is sanctioned by the international governing body of motorcycle racing, the FIM, pits the best riders from Australia and New Zealand against each other across men’s, women’s and junior classes.
The last OMXC was held at the State Motorcycle Complex in Broadford (Vic) in 2003, which saw New Zealand run out a comfortable winner over an undermanned Australian team.
This time around, with Reed to form the backbone of Australia’s 2005 assault, the action at McAdam Park is expected to be a much tighter – and spectacular – affair.
In addition to the on-track pyrotechnics, the second major focus at November’s Yamaha OMXC will be the battle to keep the Barrabool track at McAdam Park alive.
The spectacular open-flowing track, 15 minutes from Geelong, is situated on land owned by motorcycle-loving Clive McAdam, who passed away two years ago. Clive’s offspring are selling the land, and the SMCC has been given first option to buy the property. Several fundraising activities have been planned to see the acquisition come to fruition, with the OMC the club’s big ticket item.
“McAdam Park Barrabool is one of the world’s premier motocross circuits,” said Steve Sweeney, the president of the SMCC. “It’s set in a natural amphitheatre of rolling hills that all motocross rider’s love. The views across Geelong to the You Yang ranges are spectacular.”
“Because Clive loved motocross so much, he allowed riders to race there for decades. In fact, Barrabool has hosted many Australian champs since 1962. We are lucky to have first option to buy the land and with Chad now confirmed, and a raft of leading Aussies and Kiwis set to join the fold, we are confident of making the event a huge success.”
Tickets for the event will go on sale in August, and details will be announced shortly. For more information, keep an eye on the official website at www.oceaniamx.com.
Chad Reed career highlights
