News 17 Oct 2019

Penrite Honda 'more than willing' to support Reed at home

Factory organisation prepared to host Australian if he remains aboard CRF450R.

Image: Foremost Media.

Penrite Honda Racing would be open to supporting Australian icon Chad Reed if he remains aboard Honda machinery for the upcoming S-X Open Supercross FIM Oceania Championship in Auckland and Melbourne next month.

Local factory Honda team owner Yarrive Konsky has confirmed that his Australian championship-winning team would support 37-year-old Reed if requested in the pair of events that will also round out the 2019 Australian Supercross Championship.

Reed revealed this week that he will be back aboard privately-operated Honda equipment at this weekend’s Monster Energy Cup in Las Vegas and it’s expected that he will ride a CRF450R in the New Zealand, Australian and also Paris supercross events. No confirmation has been made at this moment.

“It’s encouraging to see Chad choose a Honda to compete on at Monster Cup,” Konsky told MotoOnline.com.au. “He has also hinted that he will choose to race Honda in the other international events he competes in – it clearly says a lot about the new 2020 CRF450R. We would be more than willing to support him where we can so he can focus on being a racer whilst in Australia and New Zealand.”

The Penrite Honda Racing team has been all-conquering with American import Justin Brayton during the past three seasons of Australian supercross in SX1, this year targeting a fourth-straight premier class crown together. Honda also currently fields Brett Metcalfe in SX1, as well as Chris Blose and Mitchell Oldenburg in SX2.

A potential collaboration between Reed and Penrite Honda comes at a fitting time for the Melbourne-based squad, as it intends to contest selected rounds of Monster Energy AMA Supercross in 2020 and is currently evaluating a separate full-time 250SX West program in the US. It isn’t anticipated that Reed will have any ongoing connection to those programs.

Reed’s scheduled Oceania appearances – the series in which he is the reigning champion – will come at the Monster Energy S-X Open Auckland on 16 November, two weeks prior to his annual Australian homecoming at the high-profile Monster Energy AUS-X Open Melbourne.

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