Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Cycle News 1990 03 07

Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles

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outdoor Nationals 'ca use it' s li ke th e o ld day s when they used to go o u t a nd just stak e o ff a tra ck in a field and go ridi ng. So I enjoy both . Basica lly, I' m happy p retty much a ny time I' m on a . motorcycl e." T he 1990 Camel Su percross Series is shapi ng u p to be o ne o f th e most exc iting seri es since j eff War d ace d out Broc Gl over for the ch a mpio nship by a co u p le poi n ts a t the last race of the 1985 seri es. T here a re more than a handful o f riders who sta nd a ch a nce o f wi nni ng this yea r's n u mb er one pl a te, but Wa rd feels that his chances are as good as a nyone else's. " T o win th e cham p io ns h ip thi s yea r, i t's go ing to go to whoever wa nts i t the m ost," sa ys Ward. "I've been out practicing every da y a nd 1 th in k 1 can do it. I know it' s going to ta ke so me lu ck, but you crea te your own luck. It 's go ing-t o tak e good sta rts and you're go in g to ha ve to sta y healthy and not crash. " I' d love to wi n every ra ce, but it's mo re important to m e to ge t in th e top th ree at a ll th e races." Standing in Ward's way o f a Ca me l Su percro ss Seri es ti tle a re many racers, incl udi ng one o f th e hottest riders o n you don 't have to p u ll in th e clutch five d ifferen t tim es." Desp ite ri ding the I25cc class for the last two yea rs, Ward feels rig h t a t home dici ng agai ns t the " big boys" in the 250cc class. "Actually, th ere' s rea lly no t that mu ch d iffere nce. I'm racin g agai nst a lot of the sa me g uys tha t I raced against in the 125cc class - we 're just o n bigger bi kes now. Las t. year, I race d a lo t agai nst j eff Ma tiasevich a nd "When I went to Anaheim I got psyched out all over again." Dam on Bradshaw, a nd th ey a re basica lly th e two g uys I' ve been rac ing aga inst th e last co u p le o f weekends. At the fir st race in Anaheim, thoug h , I did feel a little nervous. When I went to Europe (la te last year), I got to wh ere I felt rea lly co m fortable racing against those guys . I wasn 't intim idat ed or an yth in g. I fel t like I co u ld beat 'em. T he n, wh en I went to An ah eim I go t psyched o ut a ll over again. But even tho ugh I was psyched ou t, it's' like these guys a ren' t rea ll y going all tha t 'H look at Bradshaw more on a race-to-race basis. But as far as the championship goes, it's people like Jeff Stanton that I worry about." , Ward's pl ans for 1990 in clude the 250cc Ca mel Supercross Series, th e AMA 250cc Natio na l Championship MX Series a nd (tentatively ) the last half of the 125cc MX Na tio nals. (Belo w) Wa rd diced wit h 125cc MX National Champion Mike Kied ro wski (II ) at the San Diego Supercross and finished fou rt h . A week earlier at the H ouston Astrodome, Ward too k second , mu ch faster th an 1 ca n . When I went to H ou ston 1 p roved to m yself th a t I ca n run u p there. Ever since then m y finish es have been p rett y good." There's been a lot o f talk abo u t ho w a ll the new kids have suddenly broken th e stra nglehold the veteran racers ' have ha d on supercross for the past five or so yea rs. Ward is one o f the ki ds beat in g the vets. " I th in k it 's great th at th ose g uys (Johnson , j eff Wa rd, j ohnny O' Mara. Sta nton, etc.) hav e had th eir ti me th ey've been big heros, bu t I don' t ser any reason wh y so me new young gu ys ca n 't beco me hero s, too ," Wa rd sai d. "I respect a ll th o se g uys very m uc h , beca use I' ve a lways looked up to them. I still sometimes look up to them if I think back on it. For so me reason, j eff Ward a lway s stands out in m y mind. I was at hi s first su percross win a t Sea tt le - I was th ere th at n ight a nd he's a lways been sort of my hero . 1 look ed up to him whe n he rode min i bi kes, too, because I just started raci n' and he was th e m ini bike hero . O f co urse, 1 look up to R ick johnson, beca use he's won more supercrosses than an ybod y else, a nd supercross is my favorite kind of racing. "I enj oy supercross because 1 lik e to jump a nd stuff, but I al so like th e the tr a ck (w hen h e' s h ea lth y) Yamaha 's Damon Brad sh aw. " Da mo n, o n an y g iven n ight, ca n go rea lly, rea lly fast," says Ward. "I loo k a t Bradsh a w more o n a race-torace basis. Bu t as far as the champ ionship goes, it 's people like jeff Sta nton th a t 1 wo rry abo ut. r look ou t for Sta nton because he's p ro ven tha t he ca n win a ch ampion shi p and he' s been stayi ng p retty consis tent." When Ward isn't o n the road following th e Camel Su percro ss or o u tdoor Na tio na l MX Series, he's ou t practici ng near h is " seco nd " home in South Caroli na. . " I grew up and we nt to Monroe Hi gh School in Maltby, Wash in gton, wh ich is a li tt le tow n in Snoh m ish County. Tha t's whe re m ost of my fam ily a nd frie nds a re. But wh en I got the H on da ride, 1 moved to Cal ifornia a nd I' ve been on th e roa d ever since. My mom and stepdad moved back to Soci ety H ill, Sou th Carolina. T hey moved th ere because th ere are a lo t of races on th e East Co ast, and you can drive to mo st o f the races ra th er th an hav in g to pay $500 to fly a ro u nd. T hey love to go an d wa tch me race . 1 stay in South Carolina w he n th ere are races on th e East Coast, rather th an cha ngin g my time zone a nd wasting 10 hours fly ing back a nd forth. It 's a lways real . hot th ere a nd I've got a rea l good p ra ct ice track, so i t' s a great p lace to tra in . It 's ou t i n the co u ntry quite a wa ys and th ere're no distractio ns. 1ca n concentrate on just worki ng o ut a nd rid ing. When I' m done racing in seven, eight or nine years, I can always go back to Was hington." Like many racers, Wa rd's goals are simple - to race as m uc h as possib le and win as m uc h as possible. "I'rn rea lly happy right now , b ut I'd lo ve to win a champions hip. 1 want to be th e Stanton of the '90s - th e surprise gu y. That would be great.t' cs 35

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