Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127397
eMOTOCRO~OA~~Q~~p_12__oo_a_M_XS_m_ ~ '~_:R_ou_~ 9~ ~~~~~~_ _~ e Jeff Ward (I) leads Don Boesp flag (536), Grayson Hart (372), Terry Hamness (931) and Damon Bradshaw (II) into the first tum at the start of the second 500cc moto. Larry Ward (10) gets encouragement from the fans during his battle with Guy Cooper ( I) 'in the first 125cc National moto. Wards win it all at Washougal By Nate R a u ba W ASHOUGAL, WA, SEPT. I t was a good day for the Wards at Wash ougal Motocross Park, as Larry Ward and Jeff Ward scored their first National wins of the year before an estimated 8500 fans. Last year at Washougal, Larry Ward wanted to see Suzuki win the 125cc Na tional Championship so he slo wed while lead ing the first 125cc Nat ional moto, a llo wing teammate Guy Cooper to dose in and eventually take the win. This year, Larry wanted to win himself and there was no easing of the pace wh en Cooper cha llenged him in the first 125cc National mo to. After a toug h battle wh ich saw both riders lead I 12 at different ' points of the 30-mi n ute plus two-lap moto, Larry put th e defending 125cc Nati on al Ch ampion beh ind for good late in th e race to score th e victory . Larry battled an other Suzuki teammate in the second moto, only this time it was Mike LaRocco, winner of the previous 125cc National in Minnesota . Their battle was for second, however, as Pea k/Pro Circuit H onda rid er Brian Swink ran awa y with the mo to win. LaROCco and Larry swa pped second p lace severa l times before La rry wisely backed of£ and let LaRocco have the runner-up po siti on, knowing that a thi rd-p lace fini sh aboard hi s Scon S touffer-prepa red Suzuki R M 125 would ear n him his second-ever 125cc National overall victory. Swink finished fourth in the first moto and ended up second o verall, while Cooper ro unded o ut the top three overall with 2-9 moto fini shes. With a purse of $10,000 up for grabs in the 125cc class, Ward earn ed $600 for hi s first m oto victory and '$280 for th ird in the second moto. " I like to win in Washington," said Larry Ward, who is originall y from Sno homish, Washington , yet now lists Society Hill , South Carolina as home. " I wish we cou ld ride here every weekend." Defending 500cc Nat ional Ch ampion J ef£ Ward, no rela tio n to La rry, would likely agree. The 30-year-o ld southern Californian had problems with arm pump and a blown rear shock in th e fir st 500cc Nati onal mo to , dro pping from first to fin ish third. J ean-Mi chel Bayle won the race and J eff Stanton fin ished second. But in mo to two, it was all J ef£Ward and h is T o m Morgan-t uned Kawasaki KX250 fro m sta rt to fin ish as he fough t of£ a cha llenge from Stanton to win the. m oto, Bayle could n' t put a dri ve together and finished th ird, giv ing War d hi s 32nd career Na tio na l overa ll wi n a nd fi1th Na t io na l win a t Washougal. " I needed that wi n," said J eff Ward, wh o earned $1500 of the $ 15,000 500cc class pu rse. " T he tracks I like are com ing up (on th e schedule), and we have two weeks off so I'll be abl e to train and rid e to prepare fo r th e end of the season ." J eff Ward also said the Wash ou gal Motocross Par k track suits him well. Located a few miles above th e Co lumbia River in the Cascade Mounta in Ran ge of sout hern . Washington, th e m ountain ous co u rse features fa st straig h ts, some of wh ich clim b and descend a steep hi ll, and rutted turns, whi ch were more prevalent because a heavy, fo ur -hour rain shower soa ked th e grou nd the previo us day. The moi sture left the track nearl y perfect at race tim e. Despite Ward's o vera ll win, Bayle earn ed an equal am ount of po ints at Washougal and padded hi s lead over Stanton by o ne point, 95-86. Ward, wh o hopes to win an unprecedented eigh th National title, remains in third with 83 points. Having mi ssed th e first seven l25cc rounds while co m peting in the 250cc Nationals, Larry Ward isn't in the race for the 125cc Nati onal tit le. But his teammate Cooper is, and the defending cham p picked up three points on points leader Mike Kiedrowski, who finished sixth overall with 6-5 rides . Kiedrowski ho lds a commanding lead , however, with a 356-313 advantage o ve r Cooper a n d four rounds remaining. 125(( National Cooper go t a trem endous advantage towards gaining some points a t the start of th e first moto wh en he grabbed