CARSON - Jeff Ward’s age didn’t catch up with him at X Games 13
on Saturday. Matt Burkhart did.
Ward, a Newport Beach resident who is the oldest participant to
win an X Games medal, captured the silver in the Moto X
SuperMoto competition at The Home Depot Center. Ward won the
gold medal in the same event last year. He was edged by
Burkhart on Saturday over the final lap-and-a-half.
"I’m 46 years old. I have 20 years on Burkhart," Ward said. "It
was a tough, good pace. I was controlling what I needed to be;
being fast when I needed and being slow and not making
mistakes."
"I made a mistake in the right-hand corner. I tried to shift to
second and went to neutral. It was a little mistake … actually it
was big. It’s frustrating. I went the whole race (in the lead). He
wouldn’t have gotten by without the pace I had in the dirt. It was
good for TV, I guess."
Although he was the defending champion, Ward said he felt he
entered Saturday’s race with nothing to lose — except the gold.
"I can’t bounce back like I used to," he said. "I came in as the
underdog. At my age, it’s hard to push, and ride that hard. I’m
happy with how I did. Being competitive is always fun."
Ward beat Doug Henry last year to take the top spot. Ward’s
career spans four decades and is as varied as is it long. He has
competed in Supercross, SuperMoto and IndyCar racing.
"It was one mistake, I can’t complain. I got gold and silver. If I
came back next year and got bronze I would be happy."
David Pingree took the bronze medal. Placentia’s Micky Dymond
finished sixth in the 20-man competition and Brea’s Stephan
Chambone placed 17th. MotoCross legend Jeremy McGrath
finished in fifth. oceregister.com