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T H E

DIRT J O U R N A L S

Established 2014

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ChAD ReeDinteRview

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If you were among those who thought Chad Reed – the most consistent supercross rider of his era, if not all-time – was in the twilight of his career heading into his 2014 indoor season, you wouldn’t have been alone. In a sport where the expiration date is often reached by the time a rider is in his mid-to-late 20s, the 31-year-old Reed was to many, racing on borrowed time. A knee injury took him out of the 2013 series at the midway point, and when it did, the whispers that it was time for the Australian to hang the boots up began. Supercross can be a cruel sport that eats its young, and is even nastier and more unforgiving to its elders. Aware that the velvet curtain could be coming down on Reed’s American SX walkabout, many sponsors and US moto-industry players looked the other way when the brash

two-time SX champion came calling on them with his helmet in his hand. Where other racers may have packed their gearbags and called time on their careers, the doubters, naysayers and the indifferent only infuriated Reed and made him even more resolute in his mission to make something happen. It wasn’t

time to quit and go home. It just wasn’t an option. So Reed dug deep into his Wells-Fargo bank account, leaned on his longtime sponsors who had hung with him through the good, bad and ugly, and duly fortified his Discount Tire/TwoTwo Motorsports race outfit. Fired with enthusiasm, Reed hit the ground roosting at the season-opening round at Anaheim, and then slammed his comeback home by taking two legend-in-our-own-time victories.

Then, the racing gods looked down and ruined the whole glorious escapade. Seven days after his epic win at Anaheim 3, Reed, while going for broke with a banzai pass on rookie sensation Ken Roczen, misjudged the whoop section. The sinister racetrack immediately reached up, slamming him down into its clutches and sending him off to the emergency ward with some serious injuries. The crowd moaned in remorse; Reed moaned in both physical and emotional pain. He was out of the 2014 title fight indefinitely.

Four months later, Reed, now healed up and preparing for the fast-approaching Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship, sat down and got us up to speed on just what comes next for him and the men who have had his back.

JANUARY 2, 2014...ON THE EVE OF THE MONSTER ENERGY AMA SX SERIES

Chad Reed: “Oh, it’s a brutal sport. I love the sport and the industry in so many ways. But, God, in more ways than one, I hate it, too. It’s a cutthroat industry in the fact that you’re only as good as your last race, and you’re never as good as your last race. And people are so fast to forget, you know? Too many times I’ve witnessed an ugly side of it all. People are so shortsighted. Plus this industry is 99% full of yes-men. That’s difficult, man. When you’re out there to achieve greatness and wanting to be around greatness, it’s hard to be around yes-men. The industry is absolutely full of people who don’t take a stand for what’s right or what they believe in. They’re just doing the 9-to-5 thing. That’s what I think.“Wearing my heart on my sleeve, and doing things the way that I feel is right has cost me a lot. I mean, it has cost me millions of dollars. It’s cost me a number of different things. I just know that I made choices that were right. I spoke for what was right. I fought for what was best for me. I stood for what I believed in, and that’s who I want to be. When all is said and done, I want to be remembered as a guy who did it a little differently. I do my own thing, I do what I think is right, and I do things my way.”

REED THE RIOT ACT

A candid and controversial Chad Reed talks about his mistrust for the industry, the injury that cost him a supercross title, the spectre of his retirement, the burnout of Ryan Villopoto, and his much-awaited ‘comeback’ at this

weekend’s AMA Pro MX Championship opener at Glen Helen Raceway.

WORDS: ERIC JOHNSON PICTURES: SIMON CUDBY

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Against all odds, Reedy backed

himself and won his first ever AMA

Outdoor title in 2009. Back then, Reed and James

Stewart were fierce rivals. Five years on, they are both

wily vets with a newfound respect

for each other.

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EJ: Okay, Chad, the end of the 2014 supercross season is upon us and you’ve healed up from your injuries. So just how have things been going?CR: So far, so good. I only recently got back on the bike for the first time. That was good.

Were you just kind of motoring around and going through the motions on the bike?Yeah, I was just kind of cruising around and not pushing it. I was being cautious, for sure. I didn’t officially have sign-off from my doctor to go ride. Right now, I’m just trying to be smart. I’ve been off the bike for almost three months.

Did you end up with any blisters? Not yet. That’s what I was afraid of. My hands are so soft. There’s just no substituting for riding a dirt bike. I have done a few back-to-back bicycle rides and that’s easy. You just get on a bike and peddle it. Getting on a dirt bike and riding it for 10 minutes feels like you’ve literally ridden for a century. Every muscle in your body gets used, and every little thing hurts the next day. It’s brutal. Right now, my goal is to be competitive for the Glen Helen National on May 25. At this point, I’ll just be stoked to be there and to be healthy and have a shot at it. With just a month of preparation, I think it’s going to be tough to be at my best at Glen Helen. I just hope that I’m almost at 100% and I can put myself in a position where I can win races and contend for the title. A 2014 Outdoor title is the priority right now.

You’ve been off the bike going all the way back to the ill-fated San Diego SX in February. How has the forced layoff been for you? I guess you’ve been playing more of a team owner role for the past several months, haven’t you?Yeah, I’ve definitely been playing the team owner role this year. This year, being a team owner, has meant being on a different side of the fence; a side I didn’t plan on being on, that’s for sure. Sometimes, though, you just have to roll with the punches. I just tried to make what I thought was a negative into a positive. We put Dean Wilson on a bike and tried to go to the races and show that we can bring a lot to the table for younger kids and for riders who want to compete and be competitive. And I think we showed that we can compete and that our bikes are competitive. Dean was fastest in practice three times out of the four events that he did for us. He also won a heat race. He just kind of struggled with arm pump and I think that’s more of a mental and physical issue, not a bike issue. It was fun to be on the outside looking in. So, yeah, I think we made a positive out of a negative.

Do you enjoy the team owner side of the sport? Do you

like the business and the infrastructural challenges that come along with being an owner?Truthfully, I think this downtime and going to the races to do of all these things – or being forced to do all these things, I should say – made me realise that I’m not ready to be a team owner and I’m not ready to retire anytime soon. Yeah, I’m 32, but I still feel like I can win races and contend for a title. Not one part of me doesn’t believe I couldn’t have won the Supercross Championship this year. From the fact that I was on the podium and won two races, I just think I had a really good shot at it. Then, by going to the races and seeing how it all played out, I just truthfully feel that I had a really strong shot at being there week-in and week-out. Winning a championship was the goal this year, and I think it was possible. Unfortunately, I got hurt and I’ve just had to roll with the punches.

The San Diego crash with Roczen that put you on the sidelines happened on the very last lap of the race. Now that some time has gone by, do you still look back and think, ‘Man, I wish I would have just backed off and taken a fourth’?It’s easy to look back and think, ‘I wish I would have just sucked it up and taken a fourth’, but I didn’t want to run fourth. I wanted to be on the podium. I wanted to pass Roczen. Honestly, I don’t feel that I did anything wrong. I committed to the outside and was just going a lot faster through the whoops. Roczen knew that and did what we all would have done and he protected his line. Unfortunately, I just had too much speed and had nowhere to go and ran into the back of him. I decelerated a little bit, but as soon as I did, it got me a little bit out of shape and I just had to grab another handful and get after it. The whoops are not easy to stop in or to drastically change a line in. I tried to get to the right but, unfortunately, I just caught him and that drove me into the next jump. I just blew out my shoulder and broke some bones. It was so disappointing.

Did you know you were badly hurt immediately?Oh, yeah, I knew right away. The second I hit the ground, I knew. Unfortunately, at that point – then and there – you just know. When you’ve been around a long time and know what you’re body is supposed to feel like, you know you take a hit here and there. And some of them, you can breathe through and whatnot. But this one hurt. This one stung, and I knew that it was probably going to be season ending. I tried to be positive and think about the race the next weekend, but I couldn’t do it. The shoulder popped out in practice so I went and got surgery right away.

Did it take a while to shake off the disappointment of not only the crash and subsequent injury, but the fact you lost a genuine shot at the championship? The amount of concern and support for you

“Not one part of me doesn’t believe I couldn’t have won the Supercross

Championship this year. I knew I was really the only guy capable

of giving RV a true run.”

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after the crash was amazing. The fans were genuinely behind you and wanted you in the title mix. I think what we had going on this year was quite special. I get a little bit of a laugh out of it because I’m not sure whether the fans were happy for me, or surprised that they were happy for me, or all the above. The initial feeling is that a lot of people were surprised that I was able to be competitive this year. Last year was a really tough year for a number of reasons and we made massive changes this year to rectify that and get myself back in the hunt. And I strongly believed that I could do that. So when I came out and was on the podium at the first race and was then able to win two out of seven races before I got hurt, things were going my way. I was riding well. And even though I got two wins and a couple podiums there, I still felt like I was rolling and we were still improving the bike. Honestly, and to answer your question, it still stings. I’m bummed. I watched RV lock up the championship in New York for the fourth time and I knew I was really the only guy capable of giving him a true run. In 2012, we were trading the championship lead back and forth and we were really close on points. And this year, we were only two points down and I got hurt again. It’s just a real bummer at my age and at this point in my career. I’m realistic and I know these years are going to run, but for now, I still feel like I have what it takes to be competitive and win. Even if I didn’t win the title like I planned, it just would have been nice to race the series and to be a podium and race-win threat throughout the series. It was disappointing to sit and watch it. I did not predict that I’d get hurt.

And before it went sideways at San Diego, there are many out there who felt that you had reigning champion Ryan Villopoto on the ropes.Ryan is a smart kid and with four championships in a row, by no means did he luck into them. He worked hard and he was in good places at the right times and won races and he was fast, but I really did feel that

we had the upper hand this year. I felt like we had it under control a little more than he did. I just felt strongly that we had what it took to take it to him. Not to claim things, but I feel that he wasn’t at his best and we’re now finding out that he had some issues going on, and it would have been nice to be able to be there and push him to his max.

The night you won at Anaheim 3 was incredible. You had all 45,000 fans inside Angel stadium behind you. Did you realise you were putting in what will no doubt go down as a legendary moment in the sport?I led it from start to finish. For me, it was something that I hadn’t done in a long, long time – to grab a holeshot and lead a race like that. It just felt awesome, you know? It felt like we were solid and we were prepared to battle it out for the season. As far as the fans, I think they have come a long way. When Jeremy left, they weren’t too happy with me at that point because I replicated Jeremy a lot. Then, when Ricky was getting close to the end of his career, I think the fans somewhat turned on me – which made for a rough few years. Now, I think I’ve finally earned their respect. They know how much passion I have with the race team and with the sport in general. I really care about the sport and I really want to do well. And I want the team to do well. We want to be here for many years to come. I think that people are finally seeing that. With social media, I’m glad to be myself. Sure, I get in trouble here and there with some people, but it’s real. If I say something, it’s me and it’s not getting covered up. It’s directly from me. I’m good with that. If people don’t like that, then I’m okay with it. I think with age, I’ve grown to a point where you grow up and see things a little differently. I have a wife and two kids now and life is quite different than it was at the beginning. And I love it more now than ever. Once upon a time, I was making four to six million dollars a year and was mad at the world and hated it. It’s funny how all that stuff changes.

“This downtime made me realise that I’m not ready to be a team owner and I’m not ready to retire anytime soon.”

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“After three months off, riding a dirt bike for 10 minutes felt like I’d ridden

it for a century. With just a month of preparation, I think it’s going to be

tough to be at my best at Glen Helen.”

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“Ryan is a smart kid and with four championships in a row, by no means did

he luck into them. But I really did feel that we had the upper hand this year.”

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We spoke before the season started and you were pretty candid in your thoughts opinions about the motocross industry and just how what-have-you-done-for-me-lately it could be. Did you use that as motivation? I think the industry has been pretty harsh over the years. I don’t trust it at all. I mean, it is what it is, and I’ve been around it for nearly 28 years now. You spend 28 years around something and you learn the ins and outs. You have your good moments and bad moments. There aren’t too many people out there who I trust.

How do you see the competitive landscape for next year’s Supercross? There’s now a pretty radical blend of veteran riders with talented, seemingly non-intimidated kids, right?I think next year is going to be tough. On paper, the talent is gnarly. Unfortunately for the series promoters, paper never really shows what real life is. Look at the winners this year. You have RV winning races, Ryan Dungey winning races and James Stewart winning races. All of us were past 450 Supercross Champions going back to 2004. The only one missing from this group is Ricky. The only new winner we have this year is Roczen. Nobody else has been able to get in there and get a win. I believe people are going to change teams. Roczen will be one of them. Barcia is changing teams. I think Tomac has had a bizarre year. I think it’s surprising some people didn’t ride to their potential and maybe 2014 was a little bit of a wake-up call that the class might be more difficult than what some of these people thought. The old guys are still getting it done.

Do you see Roczen as a major title thread in 2015?I think Roczen will do well. But 17 rounds of racing? It’s not easy. I think for a kid used to the European lifestyle, it’s tough. It’s tough for him to come over here and adapt. We all have to adapt to that, and kind of find a lifestyle and a program and everything that works for you. I think he’s still young and adapting. I think there was almost no pressure on him this year. Whereas next year, I think he’ll be the big dog on the team and the multi-million dollar guy. And when all that happens, people expect results. When you’re not winning,

they’re pissed off. It’ll be interesting to see how that affects him and how it changes him.

How about rookies Justin Barcia and Eli Tomac?Both of them are super-talented. I think that you’ve seen both of them be good enough to get podiums. I don’t know what they’re missing, but something is missing. That said, I think that those guys will be in there. I think it’ll be the four veterans who have all won titles, plus Tomac, Barcia and Roczen. They’re all guys who are going to be super-competitive next year. It’ll just be interesting to see if the on-paper form ends up translating into race results on the weekend.

You’ve talked about being happy and passionate about the sport. In your opinion, and from what you’ve been able to observe, does Ryan Villopoto feel the same way?I watched him race to the title in New York, and his comments on TV after he wrapped up the title. It was just gnarly, you know? The guy won four consecutive championships and, for the most part, did everything that he worked so hard to do. But there was no smile, there was no emotion. He just said it. He said he was more pumped on winning the Toyota truck than he was with winning his fourth consecutive title. For me, that’s just unbelievable. I get it and I don’t get it. I’ve been through those stages in my life where racing and the demands of it are tough. I just think Ryan has been through all that and he’s probably over it. I just think he’s spent. Right now, he’s young and it’s probably coming pretty easy to him and he’s making a lot of money. Like I said earlier, the most miserable part of my racing career was when I was making the most money. Now I’m making the least amount of money and pretty much paying to go racing, and I love it more than ever. It’ll be interesting to see whether RV can get back on track and find that passion. It will depend on whether or not he has the right people around him.

Thanks for you time and candour, Chad. Now go get ’em at the Glen Helen MX opener, mate!Thanks, Eric. TDJ

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“I think I’ve finally earned the fans’ respect. They know how much passion I have with the race team and with the sport in general.”

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“When RV won his fourth consecutive title, there was no smile, no emotion. He was

more pumped on winning the Toyota truck! I think he’s spent and over it right now.”

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T H E

DIRT J O U R N A L S

Established 2014

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