Kit Palmer | January 28, 2010
Kawasaki has finally decided on a rider to fill in for the injured Chad Reed on the Monster Energy Kawasaki factory team, and that rider is veteran racer Nick Wey.
The 28-year-old motocrosser from Michigan is no stranger to the factory-team scene, as he has ridden for both Suzuki and Kawasaki in the past. More recently, Wey has ridden for Yamaha of Troy and, last year, for J-Law Racing. Wey began the 2010 season as a privateer riding a Kawasaki.
Wey finished 13th last weekend at Anaheim II and is currently 11th in points.
“Nick is a really good fit for the team,” said Monster Energy Kawasaki team manager Mike Fisher. “He has been riding with Ryan (Villopoto) this week and he is already familiar with the bike. Nick is a good rider. I’m glad we were able to work with his current team to get him on our Monster Energy Kawasaki team.”
“This is a great opportunity for me,” said Wey. “I want to thank everyone at my team for letting me ride for the Monster Energy Kawasaki team while Chad gets better. I’m going to get some testing in this week and I’ll be ready for San Francisco.”As he said, Wey will make his factory debut this weekend at the San Francisco Supercross.
As for Reed, he is expected to miss at least five more rounds of the Supercross series while his broken hand heals. He broke the hand nearly two weeks ago at the Phoenix Supercross.
Kit Palmer | Off-Road Editor
Kit Palmer started his career at Cycle News in 1984 and he’s been testing dirt and streetbikes every since – plus covering any event that uses some form of a knobby tire. He’s also our resident motorcycle mileage man with a commute of 120 miles a day.
