We caught up with Chad Reed to learn more about his role in WSX and where he sees the series going despite some pushback in America.
Watch or read below:
Injury recovery was WSX 2022
Last time I was on this side of the world it didn’t go too well! No gear bag this weekend, Of all things my pinky finger… I’ve just started to ride, it was 8/9 months without riding a dirt bike. I below out my ACL in 2012 and didn’t take that long off the bike! So it’s crazy that a pinky finger and fifth metacarpel really slowed me up the most.
His role with WSX
But excited about my new role it keeps me busy, I’m a guy that likes to take it all in and contribute anyway I can, and I think that’s what I love about this role. I don’t have to sign up to any particular thing and stay in my lane. I really get to give the vision and take in the information that I hear on the ground from race teams, mechanics, riders. I have my own experience of being an athlete, being a team owner and being a co-promoter, with that understanding try to give good informationa and try to see issues developing before they become actual issues.
The vision and pushback from US/ manufacturers
It’s always interesting becuause to my knowledge there is no manufacturer in America! So I get a kick out of people saying the manufacturs, because they are in Japan and Austria. America is a big market and I respect that and I think American supercross is the pinnacle of all supercross and still to this day they deserve that. I don’t think we and, speaking as Chad Reed not WSX, I don’t believe the goal to take that away from them, we are not trying to run races in Jan/Feb/March that winter/spring time of the year.
America needs to protect America, so I think it’s fair for said head honcho’s of the manufacturer’s the domestic manufacturers in America, they are protecting what is in their back yard and that’s fair. Going forward, we will change things I think. If the vision I see behind closed doors plays out, I think that for the next several generations, and I have 13 year old, and that’s what motivates me the most, you want that next generation to inherit positivity and fun series.
I am a huge MotoGP fan and they live the best life ever. They get to travel the world and race the baddest motorcycles and we are more like them that anyone gives us credit for. We work harder than them, our schedule is so much gnarlier, we don’t have air bags, we don’t slide and we don’t really bounce either! I think we deserve, this sport of supercoss and the people after me, I thinkt he kids deserve to have a platform that is as strong and as awesome as what MotoGP have built. If I can help bridge that gap and get us in that direction and that’s the goal.
More riders wanting WSX?
I can make a comment again neutrally on myself. i raced all round, I raced motocross, I raced supercross and I loved it. I also did supercross only and I loved it. I think the future is supercross only and that’s where the growth of the sport and fruit on the table, I think that’s where they are at. I look at what Kenny is doing and what these guys are doing, I also know and understand, there doesn’t need to be a name but 99% of riders want to be here, they want supercross only and you can see that, how it’s playing out.
Interview Jonathan McCready
Image: WSX
Get our interview with Ken Roczen here:
