Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

in 1987. But unti l this year the 500cc crown has been elusive. "I've had it in my mind since '86 because I had all th e other championships then ," says Ward. " I' ve had a long time to thi nk about it, to get it, a nd every year I'v e been hurt or something. It's a tough class to win." Winning th e titl e for the grand slam was no doubt sweet and helped to erase the bitterness of the rest of his year , which started off with a foot injury at the first round of the Camel Supercross Series. Ward was forced to sit out the first half of that series, hut came back and won four of the remaining nine rounds to finish fifth overall in th e series. But th e time off came prior to th e start of th e 250cc National Series , and Ward still wasn 't quite up to speed and watched J eff Stanton take away his number one pl ate . " I wasn 't confident wh en I cam e back into the 250cc Nationals and wasn 't set up or motivated for the seri es," Ward ex p la i ne d . "I should 've won two or three more races. " Ward says' he needs lots of riding time on his bik e to gain th e confiden ce to race a t the speeds he does , and just one weekend off seems Iike a month to Ward. But a five-week break between seri es gave Ward all the time he needed to prepare for the 500cc Nationals. " I totally dedicated everything I Ward looks up to triathletes, th e men and women who combine longdistance running, cycling a nd swimming all in one event. Many are h is friends, and Ward often competes in ing. I wouldn't do it as much if it was just for motocross. " Ward's desire to do well at triathIons isn 't the o n ly thing that keeps him in top shape. He also has inspiration in his ' new Kawasaki teammate Johnny O'Mara, another avid runner/ cyclist. " He's got tons of energy, so it helps me out," Ward says. " It' ll help (Jeff) Matiasevich too. Before we go testing we'll go for' a 20-25 mile bike ride, test all day, then maybe run after- biathlons; which combine running and cycl in g, when h is schedu le permi ts. Someday he p lans to en ter th e lronman Triathlon in H awai i, but for no w running and cycling is just a hobby that he enjoys. Fortuna tely it also keeps him fit for racin g motocross. " I can go o ut and see how I'm improving instead of just doing it for my racing," Ward says. " It helps me get out there to do it for ano ther sport. I ride to help my racing but I cycle and run more to improve for triathlons than for motocross train- : wards. I'v e never had a rider o n th e , team that 's into it lik e Johnny is," But Ward hasn 't always been into tra in ing like he is now . Up until he hit the Na tio nal circui t at age 16, winning came relatively easy. Ward 's father was a top trials rider back in Glasgow, Scotl and, in th e early '60s. The family moved to southern California when Ward was two , and at four his father pushed him off on a Triumph for his first ride. "I could just touch the bars," remembers Ward. " One time he let in th eir 30s, and th e demand that is placed on their bodies. The miles they put in every day to compete in th eir sport and th ey're still com petitive. . ." Ward stops to reflect for a moment. " Why can 't I go until I'm 35? There's just no reason wh y I can't. " me go and forgot to turn on the gas. ~ It quit, and I was trying to hold it up but could barely reach the bars. So I let it go and ran." Ward was soon riding the trials, but between sections he'd ' go fast, flying up and down the hills. Ward beat all the other kids in the parking lot races at the trials, and moved on to motocross when he was about 0 seven . At IO he was racing " q uite a 0") bit" and got into it even more when 0") the Honda XR75 came out in 1973. - e Ward's new home Is In an Ideal location for him to take advantage of two of his favorite activities, running and cycling. Ward runs up and down the hills across from his house and has a cycling course on nearby streets. had to th at series," said Ward. " I put everyth ing o n hold a nd all I did was test and ride. It go t to wh ere I felt th e bike was a part of me and I was so con fident o n it." The preparation was evident as Wa rd bl itzed th rough the series, winning four of the six even ts o n the wa y to the cham pionship that p ut h im int o th e record books. H is on ly dow nfa lls ca me foll owing a br eak for the Mo tocross des Nations and at the fina l ro und where he wrapped up th e ti tle. Ward 's feat a lso esta b l ishe d ano ther milestone. At 28 years of age, , he became th e oldest rider to win a n , AMA motocro ss cha mp ionsh ip . Although he may be th e "old m an " of p rofessional MX today (on ly J ohnn y O 'Mara is older, by three months), Ward doesn't pl an to step down. A new two-year contract with Kawasaki will keep him racing at least until he's 30, but th ere's still no end in sight. . " I don 't have an y reason to pull out," Ward says. " I don't feel any different than I did when I was 20; in fact I feel much better since I'm stronger and know what I'm doing. I always loo k at triathletes who are After ra cking up cou n tless mini cycle titl es, includin g three Race of Champions crowns wh ich has yet to be dupli cated, ' Ward h it th e Nationals wh en he turned 16 in June of 1977. It was then that he began the learning process that's made him what he is today. • ' "I never trained or practiced," says Ward. "A little bit just for fun, but never seriously until I started to be around guys who knew what they were doing, and I learned I wasn't doing enough." Ward's first full season was in 5

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