He flies through the air with the greatest of ease…
…and this year is expected to leap over Formula One driver Mark Webber to become Australia’s richest motor sportsman.
Chad Reed, 26, of Kurri Kurri, near Newcastle, last month won the world and American Supercross championships and has just launched an updated Australian supercross series in which he will star.
His Australian manager Matt Cousins says Reed’s earnings this year should eclipse his wealth in 2004, which landed him in fourth in BRW’s sporting rich list and surpass Webber.
“The BRW list comes out in December and we expect him to be at least third or fourth,” Cousins says.
Reed will not comment on his wealth but is between contracts with bike companies “which is killing me for merchandise sales at the moment.”
However he says that the “Super X” series, which he is bankrolling with partner Mike Porra, had secured lucrative worldwide live TV deals.
It includes live coverage on Foxsport and delayed broadcasts on Channel Ten and Fuel TV.
“This is the first time a whole supercross series has been telecast absolutely live anywhere in the world,” Reed said.
Super X prizemoney will exceed $200,000, three times the amount up for grabs in previous national supercross competitions, and the seven-round series will be held on full-size US-type man-made tracks.
The seven-round series starts in Perth on October 4, moves to Adelaide October 18, Geelong October 25, Sydney November 8, Wollongong November 15, Townsville November 22 and the grand final in Brisbane at QEII on November 29.
A one-off event will also be staged in New Zealand on December 15.
Porra, who is responsible for the successful Uncle Toby’s Ironman Series and also brought the sell-out Crusty Demons freestyle motocross shows to Australia, said New Zealand would be included in the series next year.
He said the series would increase to 10 rounds between 2010 and 2017 with rounds in Beijing, Shanghai and Dubai with prizemoney swelling to $350,000.
Cousins could not be precise about Reed’s investment in the Australian series, but he is tipped to pour in $5 million with Porra in the first year.
“It is hard to put a figure on it (how much he will spend) but as well as the amount of money he’s spending it’s the missed opportunities in the US that will cost him between $17-20 million over the next three years.”
Reed rode the final four rounds of the US championship _ where he won nine of the 17 rounds _ nursing a broken shoulder from a crash during practise.
He won nine of the 17 rounds, finished on the podium 13 times and led 153 laps over the season, three times more than any other rider.
“It has been a dream of mine for a very long time to turn supercross into a mainstream sport in Australia,” he said.
The Super X series will include tracks made designed by Mark Barnett who designs tracks for the US competition.
Porra said the international riders in the series, who would be named in the next few weeks, would not have been released to compete here if the tracks were not up to US safety standards.
Super X will also include four new race formats sanctioned by Motorcycling Australia. They include a man-on-man one-lap sprint and a “survival” race with the slowest being eliminated.
- The Courier-Mail
