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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128181
(Above) Jeff Ward, at 41 years old, didn't think there was enough competition for him In the newly created Over 40 Pro class, so he raced with the younger Over 30 crowd and still pulled off a fourth overall. and I've never had that happen before. I think I'm going to ride my old bike for the next moto, if I get it back in time." Davis' DNF moved Ward back up to fourth, all by himself, which is exactly where he'd finish - an impressive feat even for a seven-time National Champion, being as he's 41 years old and riding in the Over 30 class. "My shoulders got a little tired, but at least my arms didn't pump up so bad where I couldn't ride the bike," Ward said. "I've been riding quite a bit to try and stop that, so I'm getting that out of me, and now I'm just not training hard enough. I only rode, like, two days before that Masters race they had out here, and I felt so bad, so I figured I'd better start riding a lot if I planned to do this race, so I rode, like, four to five days a week for about three weeks, so I don't get winded anymore. Before, I'd get winded, plus get tired, plus pump up, but now that I'm not winded, I'm at least able to ride normal and felt halfway decent. Hopefully the second moto's better." The race up front was otherwise quite uneventful, as Dubach pulled out a comfortable margin over Walker, who had a few seconds on Fowler. Then came Ward, just a couple of seconds ahead of the moto's first two-stroke, RM250-mounted Todd Downs. "The track was really dusty and slippery - it was hard to push," Dubach said, "so I just settled down and tried to keep it on two wheels to get to the checkered flag, more or less." The second moto started much like the first, with Dubach out front and Fowler, Walker, Ward and Davis giving chase. Dubach nearly crashed off the first jump when he got pitched completely sideways at the front of the pack. "The water-truck guy was getting just a little too happy up there [in the first turn]: Dubach said. "We're sitting on the start, and he's just going back and forth, back and forth over there, so I come charging around there approaching that jump, and I just hit this big grease spot, and the thing just went sideways, and I just tried to let it go and tried to move Ty Davis (right) tries to make It by with it, and I pulled it off. But I was a little puckered up for a second. It got the blood going, though." Ward made a quick pass on Walker, relegating him to fourth. "The dust was bad: Walker said. "Once I came out and got stuck behind Jeff Ward for about a half a lap, they was gone. With all the dust, if you can't see where you're gOing; them holes will swallow you. I tried to push, but I didn't want to push no harder than I had to." Ward started to struggle and fall back, being passed not only by Walker but by Davis and CRF450R-mounted Erik Kehoe as well. Ward peft) ear1y In the second moto. Thi. pass didn't stick, but Davis would get by later. "You had to give a gap of abou three or four seconds to see [in th dust]. and those guys were getting me for it: Ward said. "But I wasn' going to go down because of it. M arms were pretty good today, but my upper shoulders got a little tired, so I wasn't hanging on that well, but it' just so dusty that it was just a tough track to ride. To ride good on this track, you really gotta be on you game, riding all the time. If the track was smooth and loamy and had nice berms, I'd be doing a lot better, bu with it being so rough, you gotta be relaxed and have the strength to hang on when you need it, and I don't have that." He ended up sixth in the moto and an impressive fourth overall. Out front, partially due to the conditions, nobody was passing anybody. Dubach ran away to a lead 0 more than 12 seconds, while Fowle did his best to keep Walker fa enough behind him to not have t worry about him. "I was keeping an eye on Kevin, and he started gaining on me a littl bit in the middle of the race, and I pu my head down and pulled back ou on him a little bit," Fowler said. "I was all I could do today. I rode kind of stiff in the first moto, but I felt like rode up to my potential in moto two, and that's all I can do." After Walker came Davis, on a borrowed YZ450F. "I didn't feel bad, but I missed m [steering] stabilizer," Davis said. "I used to moto without it, but man, you Davis borrowed a VZ450F for the second moto after his bike broke In moto one. He finished fourth In moto two. cue' e n e _ s ' NOVEMBER 20, 2002 9