Chad Reed takes fourth at 2012 Monster Energy Cup

Sam Hall

TwoTwo Motorsports’ Chad Reed has turned his attention to the Terex Australian Supercross Championship, following a “successful” ride back from injury at the 2012 Monster Energy Cup.

Reed showed little sign of an eight-month lay-off, going 5-6-4 to secure fourth Overall at the weekend’s Las Vegas event, won by Muscle Milk Honda’s Justin Barcia. The Aussie walked away from the prestigious annual meet empty-handed, but insists he has made huge progress ahead of next year’s AMA season.

“Overall, I think the Monster Cup was a good result,” Reed told _Transmoto_. “For the most part it was good. I felt a bit rusty in practice and then each time I went out I was getting closer to where I need to be.”

Reed was poised to take a podium finish early on at Sam Boyd Stadium, but a combination of bad starts and a crash in race two halted his momentum.
The bad luck seemed to extend throughout the world class field, with Ryan Villopoto sitting out most of the event after a crash in race two, and Ryan Dungey dogged by bike problems. That left Barcia to take the Overall from Dungey and Eli Tomac.

“Unfortunately in race two I threw the front end away and crashed,” continued Reed. “I came here and honestly wasn’t expecting to win all three races – I didn’t think anybody was going to do it. But I showed that I had the speed to be competitive here, which is good.”

Reed is confident of building on the Monster Cup result, with some more race time under his belt in Australia. He will fly back home from the US on Monday night to contest the final three rounds of the Terex Australian Supercross Championship.

“Hopefully the tracks there are as good as they have been in recent years and that we can get better prepared for Anaheim,” Reed told _Transmoto_. “I’m happy, honestly. We’ve got three months to brush up on a few things and be ready for Anaheim, and I’m confident we will be.”

The Terex Australian Supercross Championship resumes this weekend at Phillip Island, October 27-28.