Chad Reed to test V8 Supercar

Renowned worldwide for his prowess on two wheels, Aussie Supercross talent Chad Reed will take on a different challenge in the coming weeks as he prepares for an official test with leading V8 Supercar operation TeamVodafone.

Reed, who won the World SX Championship in 2003, the AMA Championship in 2004 and finished runner-up in both in season 2007, has a passion for all forms of motorsport and has long followed the progress of the rapidly-expanding V8 Supercar series, amongst a busy schedule in the United States.
TeamVodafone Principal Roland Dane met with Reed earlier in the year to discuss the possibility of an official driver evaluation session, which he gladly agreed to.

The evaluation session will take place on the 13th of August, at Queensland Raceway in Ipswich, the site of last weekend’s V8 Supercar round at which TeamVodafone dominated the podium.

Reed said he was looking forward to the opportunity to spend a day with the team and was determined to take in all he could from the experience. “I am extremely grateful to both Roland Dane and TeamVodafone for giving me the opportunity to participate in a fully sanctioned driver evaluation day,” said Reed. “It has been almost twelve months since we first spoke to Roland and this is sure to be the highlight of my year. After spending time with Craig, Jamie and the team at Eastern Creek I can see the team is truly a world class operation and I will be taking this test just as seriously as they are.”

Team Vodafone’s Jamie Whincup, the leading Ford driver in the championship, will be on hand to personally instruct Reed as he learns the ins and outs of the car. Whincup said that Reed was a born racer and had the skill to adapt very quickly to a new challenge.

“Chad is very skilled on two wheels and has a racer’s attitude which should see him pick up a lot of things very quickly,” said Whincup, a keen dirt bike rider himself.“It will be a two-way street as Chad will be showing me a few ways to improve my off-road training program as well. ”Reed’s appetite for 4-wheels was whet in 2006 when he completed a series of laps in a Paul Morris Motorsport machine on the Gold Coast, with the blessing of V8 Supercars Australia.Industry insiders were impressed by the performance and Reed himself was hungry to taste more of the popular touring car category, which led to talks with TeamVodafone.

The evaluation session is separate from a regular test in that Whincup and teammate Craig Lowndes are only able to complete a maximum of 5 laps, with the majority of the driving duties undertaken by the driver being evaluated. Queensland Raceway, while relatively simple in layout, is considered by drivers to be a very technical track, which requires confident braking into two very fast corners and good car control over a number of bumpy areas.