The Australian legend has been named as the first rider for the event’s second instalment.
By Hayden Gregory
The 2016 Aus-X Open will once again take place at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena (formerly AllPhones) on November 12-13. Following the success of last year’s spectacular, Chad Reed will once again put his hand up to compete. The veteran is fresh of another successful AMA Supercross season where he finished fifth overall behind the next generation of superstars including Ryan Dungey and Ken Roczen.
“Following a crazy couple nights of racing last year with Ricky (Carmichael) and Cooper (Webb), I’m pumped to be returning down under!” commented Reed.
“It was awesome to see all the Australian fans come out and support the sport in 2015, and I’m excited to see everyone once again for a bigger and better event in 2016!
“For me, the ultimate race in Australia is in (Qudos Bank Arena) that arena. I think that the track and the arena just provide excitement. And even from my point of view, I’ve been all over the world and been fortunate enough to ride a lot of different stadiums that are considered ‘amazing’.
“You go to the one in Dallas; it’s a $1.3 billion dollar stadium, and it’s just this massive stadium with dirt in it. It’s just boring. Where you go to Sydney and it’s tight, you just never know what’s going to happen.
“You start and you’ve got to bash your way through. You get to go down the hallways and race there. It’s just for me, it brings excitement,” Reed added.
Reed is undoubtedly a huge drawcard for the event and has stated that he will use the AUS-X Open as an opportunity to see where he is at for the 2017 supercross season.
“The AUS-X Open is a great opportunity for us to see where we’re at – motorcycle wise and team wise. That’s what is unique about this event compared to others, is that you can actually learn a lot.
“When we were here (last year), we figured out a lot of things with the bike, and that put us in a great position heading into Anaheim. So we’ll look at pushing it hard and learning some things again,” finished Reed.
A number of huge announcements are set to follow regarding the event and fans can vote for which International rider they would most like to see on the event’s website. A pre sale ticket list has also been created to ensure revellers do not miss out on what will undoubtedly be a sell out.
Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events and Minister for Sport, Stuart Ayres said, “It’s great to see Kurri Kurri local Chad Reed returning to the AUS-X Open, which has been secured for Sydney by the NSW Government through its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW.
“With more exciting announcements to come, I’d encourage everyone to set aside 12-13 November in their diaries as this will be a must see event – the largest Supercross and Freestyle Motorcross event in the Southern Hemisphere.”
Register for pre sale information here: http://ausxopen.com/
