Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Larry Ward By Chris Jonnum Photos by Kinney Jones t' s called a " mulligan" in the sport of golf. Som et im es during a fr iendly game, each player will be allowed a second chance - or mulligan - at a duffed shot. Such opportunities don't get such a distinctive name in the sport of supercross, but if they did, Larry Ward would currently be enjo ying h is mulligan. Once a full -fledged factory r ider, Ward ha s seen hi s level of support slip over the past few years. Last season he had to adjust to being a privateer, not an easy transition for someone who had once won the Seattle Supercross. Still, he continued to train and race ; ho lding on to the hope that he s till had some good results left in him . W ith t h e '94 season r a p i d ly approachi n g, t hat dream came o ne s te p closer to be ing a reali ty when Ward g ot a phone ca ll fr om Cl a r k Jon es, manager of Team Nol een /Sizzler / Yamaha . Jones had just los t his top rid er - Michael Craig, who signed w ith the factory Ya ma ha team - and was lookin g for som eone to fill the , vacancy. Wa rd wa s his choic e, and it ha s thus far proved to be a wi se one. Larry has pe rformed admirably for his new s p o ns o r, lead ing severa l ra ces and making th e podium in Anaheim . Though he's hap py w ith h is p erfo rmance so fa r, the season is far from over, and Ward is not ye t satisfied. You impressed a lot of people in the fi rst few rounds of the season. We re you surprised that you p erform ed as well as you d id ? No, actually I'm a little disappointed. When I rid e in Europe, I feel so strong and so smooth, and I win a lot of races over there. (In Europe) I don't have all 10 of the fas t guys that are here, but there's usually two or three of them every weekend. I felt strong, and every time I rode the Yamaha, I felt a little bit better. So I figured I'd be right in there. Why is it th a i y o u r results have improved so dramatically in one season? I don' t know. Maybe I'm a little older, a little smarter. I quit worrying so much. I used to put so much pr essure on myself beca u se Ca mel Su percross was so important to me . It was my life-long dream since I was a little boy, and I'd just get nervous at the races because I'd try way too ha rd. This yea r I jus t pretend I'm at another European race - try to make money and win; it's been going a lot better. Another thing is that Clark Jones and Noleen ha ve been helping me a lot. The last couple yea rs at Suzuki I was pre tty much on my own, an d hav ing so me p eople behi nd yo u r eall y helps. I Wha l was your situ ation like at Suzuki the last few years? In '90 and '91 I was a full-factory rider. In '92, I was a factory rider, but my money came from Suzuki Japan; I di dn't have works forks or a works shock, bu l all my expenses and stuff were paid for. In '93, I was a su pport rider. I got free bikes and parts an d I paid fo r everything else myself. Still, I thought I had an okay year . I got fourth in the 125 outdoor nationals, which isn't great, but, doing everything on your ow n... This year Yamaha and Noleen have been helping me out quite a bit . It's not a factory bike, but it's competitive as far as power (is concerned), and we get the suspension a little bit closer every week. I'd like to th ank C la r k and Lois Jones for giving me a 'new start and a second cha nce. I feel I'm doing a good job for them, but if it wasn' t for them I wouldn' t ha ve the chance. I stayed with them for a while during the first few rounds and it helped me with my sleep.Td go to sleep ea rly, just because there were a couple li ttle m on sters I wanted to ge t away fr om... jus t kidding. How does being on Team Noleen compare 10 b eing a member of a facto ry learn? Actuall y, it's almost the same. The only difference is that I d o most of my testing with my mechanic, Marshall (Plumb) . Clark helps me ou t a lot, too. Are there any disad vantages? Probably the only d isad vant age is the works suspension. My s uspension is actually wo rking good. A lo t of it depends on the rider, because he's the one that has to tell them what he wants. Other than just a couple works things, I think my bike is as competitive as any one's out there - even the factory guys. I think Hond a, hon est ly, is s till a step above everyone else, but I think mine's right in there. Why ha ve Yamaha riders been getting such good starts? ' Anybody can ge t a holesh ot. It's technique - how you ge t across the ga te. I had been racing almost every weekend in Europe, so I'd been seeing the ga te drop a lot. Tha t's why at the first couple ro unds I was a li ttle bit fresher th an every one else - I ho les ho t a t Orlando an d An ahei m . Jeff Emig ho lesh o t a t Houston, Kyle Lewis at San Diego, and Ueff) Ma tia sevich hol eshot in Tampa. Tha t's somethin g that Yamah a can bra g about to the public, but a ll th e riders know it's techni que. ' You finish ed third at Anaheim, bul didn't d o as well al San Diego and Tampa. Whal happened? ' At San Diego, I went from 12th to fourth, then fell wi th about two laps to go an d went back to sixth, so I felt I rode really welL At Tam pa, I had wha t I call one of those nights. I went from the Last Chance to the ma in; I was fighting the track all night. It was really super hardpacked, and that's my worst terra in. I'm more of a loamy kind of guy, and it was so hard to ride. Also, I got taken out in my heat race and my semi. Slow er guys accidentally crashed in fronl of me and I ha d no place 10 go, and cras hed. I ended up getting a 20th-place start and worked up 10 eighth, so I was happy with how I rod e. Sometim es w hen yo u g el a ho leshot and everyone else crashes, you end up second and don't even ride that good, and then other tim es you ri de you r butt off and ge t a seventh or an eigh th. I think I'll continue to do well, especially at the next few rounds. I think I'll do a lot better al Daytona this year, simply because I feel a lot more comfortable on my bike. It feels a little bit more like a 125. I've alwa ys b een super-fast at

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