Chad Reed will be the sole rider for TwoTwo Motorsports again in 2013. Image: Simon Makker/Makkreative.com.

Australia’s Chad Reed has stated just how close he came to adding a second rider to TwoTwo Motorsports for 2013 in a revealing interview with Monster Energy in the US.

Reed, 30, will enter his own team for the third successive season next year, but despite having the required budget in place, TwoTwo was unable to secure additional factory equipment from American Honda to field a second rider.

While early speculation linked Ryan Villopoto to Reed’s team, multi-time world, American and Australian champion Reed said it was Dean Wilson who came closest to joining TwoTwo, both before and after he recently joined, then departed, Jeff Ward Racing.

Instead, Wilson has returned to Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki to ride 250SX in supercross and the 450 Class outdoors.

“The goal this year was to have a second rider,” Reed reflected. “We had the budget to do it, we had everything in place. Unfortunately, truth of the matter is that Honda didn’t come to the table with a bike like they were supposed to, so I’m a little disappointed in that.

“For a little bit there we talked to [Ryan] Villopoto , but I think that was an unrealistic goal. But I think that Dean Wilson was a very realistic goal. And not only did we lose him once, we lost him twice! So, I was pretty bummed and pretty pissed off about how all that went down.

“I felt that we were in a good position to have a good, young talent. Not only would he be good for us as a brand and a team, I think he would have been good for the Honda brand. So, it was disappointing to see how it all went down.”

Signing Wilson would have been a major boost for the future of TwoTwo Motorsports, Reed seeing the 2011 250 Class American Motocross Champion as one of the sport’s brightest rising stars.

“It could have been good,” Reed said. “I mean, it was a business decision. It didn’t have anything at all to do with how close I am to Dean as a friend. I think that he has the skills. If you look at Monster Cup, [Justin] Barcia and [Eli] Tomac achieved great results and I think Dean is every bit as good, if not better, than those two guys.”

The importance of having a second rider at TwoTwo is high for Reed, the team now entering its third season as a single rider operation with Reed at the helm. He sees the addition of a top rate second rider on the team as a stepping stone to the future.

“I think the positive would be that it justifies TwoTwo Motorsports as a race team that’s willing to race on a week to week basis,” he added. “I think, right now, we’re looked at as a race team where basically I’m giving myself a job and I’m the sole rider, team owner/rider kind of thing.

“So I think a lot of people kind of question how long we’re going to be here for and how much commitment I have for doing this beyond my [racing] years. So, I would like to have a second rider for that.

“Obviously, I’m at the tail-end of my career and it would be nice to have somebody who’s in the position of challenging for race wins and championships to take over for my spot. The goal has always been to have two guys.”

For the complete interview with Reed, head over to Monster Energy’s site by clicking here.