Dan Reardon knows what it means to come up through the school of hard knocks. The hard-charging 23-year-old is a four-time Supercross/Motocross champ in his native Australia, and he gained his share of bumps and bruises to prove it. Now in his second season with the GEICO Powersports Honda team, the veteran racer admits that coming to the U.S. was a bit of an adjustment.
“It was hard not knowing what to expect when I got over here. I was definitely surprised and also surprised for the good,” he says. “The racing over here is unreal. It’s definitely intense and the boys over here have definitely got some speed.”
The gutsy Reardon turned heads early on in 2008 AMA Supercross Lites West competition, running second overall by the series’ halfway point. But a string of injuries slowed him throughout the remainder of the season, and he eventually took seventh place. Reardon remained undaunted and persevered in the outdoor season, rehabbing throughout the summer while he raced. He was building momentum when he was injured again in a crash during practice at Budds Creek, Maryland.
“I was having fun and feeling good for Budd’s Creek, and then during the very first qualifying lap on Sunday I went upside down and crashed pretty hard, separating my shoulder. That was pretty much the end of it. I missed another three rounds.” Despite the setback, he was able to race the final three venues and finish 11th overall for the season.
Accustomed to injury and recovery, Reardon is 100 percent healthy for 2009. And with GEICO Powersports Honda, he feels he is teamed up with the best of the best.
“The personnel—from the mechanics to the riders to the managers to the team owners—everyone works really hard as a team. My mechanic, Charlie Costanzo, is great. He’s worked for me for two years and I’ve known him longer than that; we really understand each other.”
Reardon’s versatility as a rider gives him keen insights into the bike he’ll campaign in Supercross Lites and Motocross 250—the Honda CRF250R. From his time in Australia, he also has a lot of experience on Honda’s CRF450R.
“I enjoy both of them. With the 250, the turning and cornering is really good, you can really throw it in there, and get in and out nice and quick. With the 450, it tends to be stronger in the whoops and you can jump those bigger sections if you have to, just because of the amount of power. Either bike I feel comfortable on.”
A list of injuries that might sideline some riders appears to have had the opposite effect on Dan Reardon.
“The goal for me is to be consistent, but at the same time when I say ‘be consistent,’ I mean consistently healthy. Because if you’re healthy, then everything else kind of falls into place. I look for a good year this year, I feel confident about it and I’m going to give it my all, so I can’t wait.”