Chad Reed will make his return to the FIM World Motocross Championship this weekend for the first time since the 2001, when he finished second overall to Mickaël Pichon in the 250cc series.
"A lot has changed in 15 years. What used to be just three classes and a single-moto format is now two days and five classes,” he said in a Yamaha press release. “It's going to be nice to come back and see old faces and old friends, but the pace is going to be high and from a racing point of view I'm a competitive guy and I want to do well.”
Reed, 34, will race the MXGP of Great Britain this weekend at Matterley Basin before heading to the MXGP of Lambardia-Italy at Mantova on June 26.
"I'm excited to come back and race in Europe. Over the years I've been here for Motocross of Nations, so I know what to expect, and of course I watch the MXGP rounds every week to see who's winning,” Reed continued. “But these guys are riding at full gas in the middle of their season, and my supercross season just ended in May, so I think we're going to have a couple of great races together in the UK and Italy.”
Reed will enter both MXGP as a wild card with factory support from Yamaha Motor Europe. According to the pre-entry list, Reed will wear his customary No. 22. His Yamaha will feature the No. 22G plates during the two races, as Suzuki’s Kevin Strijbos also wears No. 22.
MXBars.net recently got some footage of Reed riding at Maggiora in Italy.
You can watch the MXGP of Great Britain live this weekend on MXGP-TV.com. Racing action starts Sunday at 4:45 a.m. ET with the second EMX 150 race. The first MXGP moto airs at 9:00 a.m. ET.
