A week of hard work at the team’s test track has Chad Reed and TwoTwo Motorsports prepared to challenge for the top spot of the podium at the second round of Monster Energy AMA Supercross, hosted this weekend by Phoenix’s Chase Field in the USA.

The 29-year-old opened his 2012 account with a hard-earned second place at Anaheim 1, earning a vital 22 points. He was also a convincing winner in his heat race.

The race podium was the Australian rider’s 115th from just 142 starts in AMA Supercross, a statistic that marks him as one of the sport’s most successful.

Despite the solid result, Reed’s focus remains on top spot, and he admitted there was lots of work to be done to close down the advantage enjoyed by series leader and 2011 champion Ryan Villopoto.

“Ryan rode a great race and showed us all we need to step it up,” said Reed.

“Second was a good result but we left A1 with some areas to work on and have been concentrating on these during the week.

“I was happy with my start in the main, it’s always difficult to get out of the gates at the front after you’ve spent so much time testing and riding by yourself.

“The season will be about speed and consistency – we had the consistency last year to be in it until the last race, and now we need to step it up and get more race wins on the board.

“I’m proud of the guys for their effort, we’re still a young team and we’re working together so well.”

AMA Supercross is an FIM-sanctioned World Championship, contested over 17 rounds in 2012.

Supercross Class Season Standings