Chad Reed is making solid progress with his 2013 program. Image: Simon Cudby.

TwoTwo Motorsports Chad Reed has returned to the Monster Energy Supercross 450SX podium after finishing third inside St. Louis’ Edward Jones Dome at round nine of the series.

In what was his 150th start in the premier class, Reed made solid progression throughout practice and qualifying before finishing his heat race fourth.

During the main event, Reed was sitting fifth before the race was red flagged on lap three due. The Aussie was third after the restart and held pace with the front runners before fending off a late charge by Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey to take the chequered flag in third place.

After his solid podium finish, Reed said he was a lot more comfortable on the TwoTwo Motorsports Honda CRF450 during the night.

“That was a much better result tonight,” Reed said. “I felt that I had a little more fight for the boys. “I think now the bike is good, it is just up to me to trust it again. Every time out tonight I felt a little more comfortable.”

The former champion feels that he and his team are progressing in the right direction with the bike, now it is just up to himself to find the little bit extra to take his first win of the season.

“I feel like we are going in the right direction, it is just trying to get that trust back,” he added. “Every time I pushed the bike tonight it gave me the right answers so it is up to me to find that little something extra.”

Reed retains fifth in the 450SX championship standings, siting just one point behind Honda Muscle Milk’s Trey Canard. The Monster Energy Supercross now heads to Daytona International Speedway for round 10 on 9 March.