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Set to embark on his S-X Open International FIM Oceania Supercross Championship defence this weekend in New Zealand, Australian fan-favourite Chad Reed admits he’s feeling ‘beat up’ after crashing heavily at the Paris Supercross on Sunday.

Piloting a privateer Honda, Reed recorded a respectable 6-7-10 scorecard during the opening night of racing before earning 11th in race one on night two, however the number 22 fell victim to a chaotic start in the second outing, crashing in the initial rhythm lane on lap one.

The 37-year-old elected to miss the final main event with a suspected rib injury, although he’s set to be on the gates this Saturday night in Auckland.

“New Zealand next weekend, so it’s going to be interesting,” Reed said in an interview with RacerX. “I feel pretty beat up right now. I’m a little bit nervous because I landed pretty hard and I have a feeling that I might have got one of my ribs again. Ribs don’t feel good. Anyway, we’ll rest up.

“The pace was high – I felt like the track was probably the gnarliest in the qualifying practice yesterday morning. [The] whoops were really tough. In those conditions, I generally felt pretty competitive. I think I was less than a second off of the top. I was fourth overall.

“So I think you got to look for the positives when there’s not a lot on paper. I just think that it was a good experience for me.

Auckland’s stop will make one half of the S-X Open series, as it’s scheduled to wrap up this year with the AUS-X Open Melbourne.