Chad Reed
Monster Energy/360fly/Chaparral/Yamaha
You just announced yesterday that your [Monster Energy Yamaha] deal has come together. Maybe shed a little light on how the deal came about. You were working on it for a while.
Yeah, better late than never. It definitely took time, but all good things take time. A long time ago, I started talking with Keith [McCarty, Yamaha Motor Corp., USA’s Racing Manager] and, long story short, got a bike and then tried to put efforts in to get Yamaha back racing as a factory team again. I started my career here, and I have a lot of success here, all the memories and everything like that, belong here as part of this team. It’s no secret that I’m the oldest guy up here, so I don’t know when the end is, but I’d like to go a few more [years]. To wrap up a career on a brand that I have a lot of respect for and a lot of memories would be cool.
How long have you been on your bike in its current form?
In its current form, just right before Monster Cup. I came to California and did a couple days of testing, and then went straight from here to Monster Cup. We did a little bit of testing after that and then went to Australia. Obviously, racing has been the key thing, and we raced two nights in Australia. There have been some days where we’ve tested and you come in feeling good, and other days where you feel a little off, but right now everything feels good. At the same time, you’ve got to be able to roll with the punches and make changes when they are necessary.
Do you ever feel like you might have lost the chance to capitalize on your prime racing years by having the dual responsibility of team owner and racer?
No. My five years of being a team owner, the things I learned and the things I took away from it are something that I could never learn without doing that. I had young children and my wife to be able to go to the races and not have or feel like you have to be off in the hospitality area. The truck was mine, and nobody could tell me that my kids couldn’t run around and all that stuff. We got to live the life and the racing, and it was a lot of fun. My years that I had a shot at the championship weren’t [lost] because I was a team owner. In 2012 I was confident that I could have won the championship. The bike was great, things were clicking, and I got hurt. Again in 2014, were within points [of the leaders] and, you know, shit happens. I wouldn’t change anything about running my own race team and the things that I learned.
A few years back when you won the title in the 450cc class, you were kind of famous because you bet on yourself with the Lloyds of London insurance. Given your confidence level now, would you do that again?
I’m letting someone else spend the money to cover my bonuses. [laughs] I don’t have a Lloyds of London policy this time. I think I single-handedly responsible for ruining that system. It’s not a system that makes a lot of sense these days.
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