Australia’s Chad Reed has admitted there are improvements to be made, but he’s content with third position at the Thunder Valley round of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship over the weekend.

TwoTwo Motorsports/Bel-Ray Racing’s Reed retained the coveted red plate after rounding out the podium in Colorado, taking third in moto one and two on Saturday.

“I was the third best guy today,” said Reed. “I’m happy to be honest. This is a tough track for me and I just felt a little off today.

“I think you learn more on your off days when you get beat. And that’s what happened today.

“We need to make some improvements, and I think I know where we need to make those,” he added.

Reed got a good start in the first moto and pressured race leader Christian Craig. The two came together, allowing Ryan Villopoto to slip past, pushing the Honda rider back to third.

While he eventually passed Craig, Reed lost a spot to Ryan Dungey in the closing stages of the race.

In the second moto, Reed took the holeshot, ahead of Dungey and Villopoto. He battled with Dungey for the lead throughout the first three laps, before succumbing to the defending champion who eventually won the race and round.

After losing a spot to Villapoto, Reed finished the race and round third, but retains the 450 class championship lead.

The TwoTwo Motorsports team will now turn their attention to the sixth round at RedBud this weekend.