Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Chad Reed has made the most of a rare break in proceedings on the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship calendar, using the fortnight off to train, test and maintain the momentum built in the first half of the 2010 season.

The number one plate-holder made back lost ground in the race for the title with a solid second place finish at Red Bud at the beginning of July, and showed he was able to match the pace set by leader Ryan Dungey.

The Australian returned to his U.S. base in Florida following the event and has been practicing on his own purpose-built motocross track at every possible opportunity, as well as completing a positive tyre test.

This weekend’s event, to be held at the Spring Creek Motocross Park in Millville, Minnesota, will be a pivotal one for Reed who needs a strong points haul to keep his goal of back-to-back 450 Class championships alive.

“It’s rare to get a weekend off and I’ve been doing everything I can to keep the momentum of the last few rounds going,” said Reed. “I’ve been putting lots of time into riding my own track and keeping myself sharp. Red Bud was a positive result but there is still more to come I feel.

“It’s the business end of the season and I feel like I’m ready to get going. The team and our sponsors have put in an amazing amount of work and I’m aiming to repay them with the results I know I’m capable of.”

The defending champion has one overall win next to his name in the 2010 outdoors season, but has built his campaign on consistency to keep in the hunt.

With six point scoring opportunities remaining, Reed is placed second in the series – 64 points behind Dungey.

Australian viewers can catch FUEL TV’s live broadcast of the 450 class from 6:30am this Sunday.