Australian Supercross Champion Dan Reardon has been rewarded for his efforts resigning with the team for next season.
By Hayden Gregory
It was a fairytale finish for CDR Yamaha’s Dan Reardon who returned to Australian competition and took with him the national supercross title. It wouldn’t have been without the support of his team and the belief that he still had what it takes to compete at the top level.
Reardon grabbed the opportunity with two hands and scored a moto win in only his second round back for the MX Nationals. The comeback gained more momentum the longer the season ran before he scored his first round win in Nowra. Finishing the season in sixth place, Reardon set his focus on supercross and well as we saw, the rest was history.
Reardon was the form rider of the SX1 class, holding off arch rival Matt Moss over the early rounds before stretching out his championship lead. In the final round the CDR Yamaha rider nearly cased his title hopes as a crash left him agonised with a dislocated shoulder.
Not to let his championship slip away, Reardon pushed on showing the determination that got him back on the bike in the first place. As the final chequered flag of the series waved it was rightfully the comeback king Dan Reardon who stood atop the podium and for that CDR Yamaha has rewarded him with another contract for the 2016 season.
“I really enjoyed racing this year and it feels new and exciting to me again,” Reardon enthuses. “I’m just motivated to go racing again and I didn’t want the 2015 season to end. The CDR Yamaha team took a chance on me and believed in me so I’m glad I will race with them again in 2016 and continue this amazing chapter in my life.
“The environment at CDR Yamaha is great and the team members are not just my work colleagues but also my mates so it makes going to the races so much fun. We also have an amazing bike in the YZ450F.
“For the first time in a long time, I’m actually looking forward to getting stuck into some good, hard pre- season training. In 2015 I was way under prepared for the MX Nationals, but now with our deal done and our direction set, I believe I can improve my results in motocross and still be a better rider in supercross.
“Winning both the motocross and the supercross championships aren’t out of the question,” Reardon warns.
Joining Reardon at CDR Yamaha will be Dean Ferris who returns to Australia after four years racing in the Motocross World Championship. The two rider line-up will unfortunately see Kade Mosig pushed out of the team which now makes him the hottest property on the silly season open market.
CDR Yamaha team owner Craig Dack made the tough decision but is confident the two pronged attack of Reardon and Ferris can produce further success for the team in 2016.
“For 2016 we have assembled two riders that have had success on the world stage, have a tremendous work ethic and are ultra-professional in the way they prepare and conduct themselves. And they know how to ride a motorcycle fast,” Dack states.
“Dan impressed me this year. He got off the couch less than a month before the start of the season, overcame a few obstacles during the year and eventually rewarded us with an Australian Supercross Championship. He has the fire and motivation to improve and I feel his best years are still ahead of him.
“He is a natural at supercross and had success in the US and is now a three time Australian champion but he is also a very fast motocross racer and also a good test rider so he will be a great asset to the team and together with Dean, we expect another successful season on and off the track,” Dack ends.
While Reardon takes some time off to heal his injured shoulder, Ferris will head to New Zealand to prepare for the New Zealand Motocross Championships starting late January.
