10th Anniversary Flashback - 2003 U.S. Open Champion Chad Reed

2007-09-06 20:23
By Denny Hartwig

Chad Reed put Australia on the supercross map when he became the first racer from his native land to win an AMA Supercross race. At Minneapolis' Metrodome, on February 16, 2002, Reed made history for himself, his sport and his country when he won the opening round of the 125cc Eastern Regional AMA Supercross Series. From there he strung together six consecutive wins en route to the championship. That wasn't enough for the 19-year-old who left his family and friends to pursue a dream.

"You don't come halfway around the world to get second or third," Reed said when asked if he considered himself cocky. "You don't become a hero or major champion being a 125cc champion."

Reed's sights were set on the 250cc division. However, he was no stranger to the bigger, more powerful machine. Prior to his move to the U.S., Reed raced in the 250cc Grand Prix Motocross Championship where he finished runner-up. Reed welcomed the challenge and moved to the premier class.

"I want to win some 250cc championships," added Reed. "I want to be able to race the people that I have always wanted to be with. Those people (are), Ricky (Carmichael), Jeremy (McGrath), (Ezra) Lusk and everybody. I really can't wait for the day to come that I line up on the line and am 100% ready to go the whole year."

Well, that time came and Reed collected his first World Supercross GP title, winning nine races, including six consecutive to close out the 2003 season. As a rookie in the premier class that year, Reed's dominance made it clear he was the real deal.

Reed kept swinging as the top riders in the world lined up inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena for the 2003 U.S. Open. On Friday night, his teammate David Vuillemin pulled off a huge win, placing him one race away from his first U.S. Open title.

"Once I had the holeshot, everything was great," said Vuillemin. "I was riding really smooth, but the start was very important."

Reed finished the opening evening in second place, making a crucial pass on Carmichael late in the race.

"I wanted to make a clean pass on Carmichael," said Reed. "It was just the first night of racing, so I didn't want to make any enemies. I had to get the start on night two."

The stage was set for Saturday night and a few simple scenarios would summarize the final chapter of the sold-out event. One, Carmichael needed to beat Vuillemin by two spots. Two, Reed needed to beat Carmichael to get the win.
Carmichael's teammate Ernesto Fonseca jumped out to an early lead with the holeshot. On the opening lap, Carmichael passed Vuillemin while Fonseca crashed. Back in the pack, Reed was putting himself in the position he needed to be - on Carmichael's back wheel.

Once Reed passed Vuillemin, the battle with Carmichael ensued. After several laps of tight racing, Reed made the pass and rode off to victory.

A very classy Reed donated the $100,000 first-place check to fellow Australian racer Jamie Brockman, who had been injured on the AMA Motocross circuit and was struggling financially with medical bills.

Obviously, money isn't everything to Reed as he won for the pride and delivered goodwill to a friend in need. More importantly, he established his existence in the 250cc division.


Source: LiveNation


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