This from the "Daily Telegraph" today
FORMER motocross world champion Chad Reed will today shock the American motorsport establishment by dumping multi-million-dollar manufacturing contracts to create a renegade all-Australian superteam.
Reed, 28, will create history by banishing big names like Yamaha, Honda and Suzuki to build his own Frankenstein-style bike that will borrow from the best of every manufacturer.
The Australian motorbike megastar says he is taking the revolutionary step because he has had enough of the American corporate machine, as he calls it, and wants to do things "the Australian way". And he is drawing on Australia's most celebrated sporting victory over Uncle Sam, the 1983 America's Cup triumph, as he attempts to beat the all-powerful US-backed Supercross teams with his own chequebook.
"I am over dealing with all the teams and the rules and I want to do it my way," Reed said.
"I want to do it the Aussie way. This will be my team 100 percent but a lot of my friends and teams I worked with back in Australia in my younger days will be involved in this race team. So will Australian products and companies.
"There is going to be a massive Australian element.
"It has an America's Cup sort of feel. America was very dominant and then Australia funded a team and they had a bunch of fun and came out and killed it."
Arguably the greatest Supercross rider in history, Reed was being hard-balled by the sport's manufacturers after a difficult year.
Some had even written the Kurri Kurri-raised champion off after he was forced to quit season 2010 after he was diagnosed with the debilitating Epstein-Barr virus.
But Reed is having none of that and will today announce his multi-million-dollar gamble to own and operate his own team.
"The way the economy is going the manufacturers aren't selling the bikes they used to and to end up on these teams they are paying you less and less," Reed said.
"They are also asking a lot more from you and are kind of whoring you out for want of a better world. "I love the sport and I am not ready to walk away but I want to do it on my terms. The risk is high. I am usually taking multi-million-dollar contracts but at this point it is me who will be writing multi-million-dollar cheques."
Reed, a multi-millionaire and superstar in the US, is one of the few men on the planet who could afford such an audacious act of rebellion against the establishment.
He is ranked Australia's fifth richest athlete, behind Greg Norman and Harry Kewell.
Without restriction from manufacturers, Reed will create his own superbike with a Honda at the core.
"As an athlete you are always under some form of contract or obligation and I am in a position where I could rethink that,"Reed said. "I have been able to ride different bikes over the last three months and been able to find what suits me and fits my style.
"The Honda is the one that I have found suits me but I am in a position where I can use parts from anywhere. My weapon of choice is a Honda but I can get bits from anywhere and I am not getting any manufacturer's help."
Reed admits he is taking a multi-million-dollar risk but is banking on Australian companies joining the fight. "But this isn't based on money," he said.
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