Reed will not only bring expert knowledge to the event broadcast, but he will also host exclusive behind-the-scenes content for WSX.TV.
Australian supercross legend and two-time FIM World Supercross Champion Chad Reed will join the SX Global team as an expert motorsport advisor and play an integral role in the FIM World Supercross Championship (WSX) broadcast team for the 2023 season.
Holding the record for competing in the most supercross ‘main events’ in history, Reed is also the fifth most successful supercross rider of all time. He will use his invaluable experience to provide operational and strategic advice in all sporting aspects of WSX, from track design to format and safety.
Reed will also join the broadcast team, providing input for the 2023 season alongside the returning line-up that includes long-time supercross broadcaster Ralph Sheheen, former supercross champion Jeff Emig and trackside reporter Kristen Beat.
Reed will not only bring expert knowledge to the event broadcast, but he will also host exclusive behind-the-scenes content for WSX.TV.
“Supercross has had a piece of my heart since I was 12 years old,” said Reed. “I’ve been fortunate enough to travel the world and race supercross at the highest level and at some of the most amazing stadiums and events known in the supercross world.”
“I can now use my understanding of the sport and my experience as an athlete, series promoter, and team owner to assist SX Global in making the best decisions to sustainably grow supercross around the world. My goals are always based on winning, and winning means contributing to WSX successfully running supercross races globally and giving future supercross racers the platform to be worldwide superstars.”
“2023 will be exciting, and I am thrilled to be a part of it. When I see the announcements and images for locations like Singapore, it genuinely makes me so proud of the potential for Supercross in the future. Even our biggest critics are envious of those images. Supercross is a sport loved globally, and it’s time to grow like never before.”
As the first race approaches July 1, Action Sports Today sat down with Chad to talk about the state of the sport and the upcoming World Supercross season.
AST: You have been named “Supercross Advisor” and a member of the broadcast team. When was this opportunity first presented?
CR: That is a difficult question to answer. And a long answer. I have been aware of World Supercross’ conception for several years prior to the pilot season last year. I have worked with Adam Bailey and his team for many years so I have been affiliated with the project in a round about way for a long time. That being said, my job or my title has officially changed over the course of the last six months. This advisor and commentator position is the best role I could be in for me personally, my family and for the sport as a whole.
AST: The goal from the beginning as World Supercross began its’ inception and pilot season last year was to grow the sport in ways not yet achieved. How can you use your notoriety in the sport and your platform to help take supercross to another level?
CR: What World Supercross is attempting to do, has been attempted before, several times. So that is where someone in my position can help the growth move forward so this is not just another attempt, that the series becomes a lasting strong stable series. From an athletes perspective I have seen strengths and weaknesses of multiple race series. I have been a team owner as well. With all of that information and data I have learned throughout the years, I know can use that to help the sport and the series grow. Understanding why things have failed is an invaluable resource. We have several successful sport models to copy like Moto GP and we can be successful as long as we continue down the path we are on. As long as World Supercross continues to be committed to their plan and not let outside influences push them around, this will be an enormous success. Previous series failures have come at the hands of falling victim to the teams and manufactures dictating how the series should be run and we have to stay focused on the end goal of becoming a consistent global series and if we stay focused on the end goals and keep the outside pressures away, this will elevate the sport as a whole.
AST: As a rider and a team owner, you are rare in the fact that you can see and speak to both sides of the sport, the business and the athlete side. How can you leverage your unique insights?
CR: Ultimately that is probably why this position was made available to me and why personally I am passionate about being the best at it. When you look at the sport as a whole, there is the standpoint of the athlete/rider and the standpoint of the team owner and while their end goals are the same, most often the path to those end goals is different. I spent three years helping to promote supercross in Australia and even as a team owner, you see things that can consistently align that both sides can agree on. There will be challenges for sure, but I am ready to take them on and find the best path forward.
AST: Where can World Supercross grow in places that have not yet been reached by other racing series, i.e. Monster Energy Supercross and Pro Motocross?
CR: In many ways, this is a difficult question to answer. In my career, I was and still am warmly received with the Monster Energy Supercross and Pro Motocross families. But in many ways, the addition of World Supercross has added a layer into the sport that is just unnecessary. It is unfortunate that riders have to pick sides in their pursuit of building a career for themselves and growing the sport as a whole. I think World Supercross and Monster Energy Supercross can coexist. Previous to their partnership with Pro Motocross, I did not see where they compete against each other in at any point and it was silly thinking on their part to think that both could not find a way to better each other. I think there is a bigger picture here, and that is to grow the sport not to diminish other series.
World Supercross takes twenty riders for the 450 Class and twenty from the 250 Class to race around the world. The model that is working for Pro Motocross and Monster Energy Supercross can still work and so can the World Supercross model with everyone having a space in the sandbox and play together. World Supercross is opening markets the sport can have a massive presence in and will only open doors for riders to have opportunities to grow their careers.
AST: As we are two weeks away from the first round in the UK, and six total stops over the course of the next five months, what round are you looking forward to the most?
CR: It would be hard to say anything different then Australia. That is my home country. There is so much excitement around a home race. It just means so much more for me and for friends and family. But that being said, when you look at the images of the stadium and the surrounding area in Singapore and having been there when I was 12 years old, I am beyond excited for Singapore.
AST: What is the most important thing that must happen this season for World Supercross to give momentum into growing the series and increasing the reach or potential locations around the world?
CR: Consistency. It is as simple as that. This is the most important season. Even though last year was the pilot season and success was found, this season with six stops will allow the series to find the flow of how this will work. This is a crucial season to learn how to check each of the boxes at each race and learn to understand the challenges of going global. We need to learn and we need to be flexible as a series. We need to understand that there will be challenges and we need to go through them to learn the solutions to them. You can only plan for them on paper so much. But once you go through them, you can build consistent solutions and then the series becomes stable.
And from a rider standpoint, to have a strong ambassador as Ken Roczen lead this charge is unreal. I can guarantee that every rider wants to race World Supercross. I know that riders want to compete in Monster Energy Supercross and travel around the states for those races, then take a month off and compete around the world. This series is only going to grow bigger and better as we learn and create consistency throughout this season.
About WSX
The FIM World Supercross Championship (WSX) is an international Championship led by SX Global in Australia. The World Supercross Championship was primarily based in the USA before the world governing body for motorcycle sport, Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), awarded SX Global the exclusive organizational and commercial rights to stage and promote the World Supercross Championship from 2022 onwards.
Last year, the WSX pilot season was launched at Principality Stadium in Cardiff to over 35,000 fans before it headed down under, where 50,000 fans witnessed the finale across two nights at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. The 2022 Championship saw Ken Roczen from Germany win the WSX class, and Shane McElrath from the USA win the SX2 class.
WSX offers the biggest prize money in World Supercross Championship history, with US$250,000 to be won at each round across the two racing classes – WSX (450cc) and SX2 (250cc). Under its independent team franchise model, the Championship also features unprecedented financial support for teams and riders. WSX provides an elevated experience for fans through unique race formats, broadcast innovations, and in-stadium entertainment suitable for people and families of all ages.