IN
THE
WIND
P24
WARD AWAITS FIM
DECISION
A
ussie speedway rider
Darcy Ward's World title
hopes suffered a huge blow
when he was excluded from
the meeting in Daugavpils—a
decision revealed by the FIM
jury.
The 22-year-old, who was
due to attend a jury meet-
ing following the conclusion
of events at the Lokomotiv
Stadium, apologized for the
failed test. Ward has blamed
dehydration for his failed al-
cohol test prior to the Latvian
Speedway Grand Prix.
"I got some bad news,"
Ward said. "Yesterday when
I was having dinner and a
couple of drinks, I didn't eat
properly and I wasn't hydrat-
ed unfortunately.
"It's the worst day of my
life and it will never happen
again. I should have hydrat-
ed, but it was only marginal
and I'm having a bad time.
"Of course I will be back
and I'm sorry to the sport and
all the fans."
This summit with the FIM
jury gave Ward the chance to
explain his version of events.
Based on that meeting, a
decision will then be made
on what punishment, if any,
will be handed out.
The FIM was unavailable
for comment.
John Hipkiss
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
JOHN
HIPKISS
Australian Darcy Ward blamed dehydration
for failed alcohol test.
PRODDY RACER GETS PUMPED UP IN '15
N
ext year's Open Honda should
be an altogether better pros-
pect than this year's underwhelm-
ing first RCV1000R production
racer, fitted with this year's factory
RC213V engine.
This was confirmed at Brno by
HRC vice-president Shuhei Naka-
moto, speaking at a first-ever joint
manufacturers' press briefing,
alongside senior figures from Ya-
maha and Ducati.
Honda's Shuhei Nakamoto
(center) talks RCV1000R
improvements for 2015.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
GOLD
&
GOOSE
continued on page 26
