Jeff Ward – MXoN Legend

Two riders stand tall as the winningest riders at the Motocross of Nations. Jeff Smith of Team Great Britain, and Jeff Ward for Team USA have won the event on seven occasions. Ward, who rode in the golden era of Team USA at this event was as tough as they came, and just as determined.

As far as how important Ward looked at this event, it meant everything to him, to be able to represent his country against the best in the world.

“They are high up there (his MXoN victories). It’s a super hard event, you can see it now, we don’t win it every year. There are great riders over there and they can ride those tracks. The outtake it takes to bring all the equipment over there and back in 1983 and 84 when we rode over there, we ran 250s and 500s, so we had two separate classes, that made it even more difficult.”

It seems though as if the MXoN legend doesn’t feel the current generation of riders felt the same as him. A different generation.

“I just stepped up to the plate. I had great team-mates, and we all worked together, and even though most of us didn’t get along through the season, we went there as a team and helped out with everything to make it happen. I don’t know, maybe nowadays it seems a little more individual. Maybe because I was from Scotland, that is why I rode good over there, and we got lucky a few times.”

Of course Ward himself didn’t always make the trip when asked, and like Ricky Johnson in his time as a member of the unbeatables, he stepped aside to make sure Team USA had the best chance of winning.

“The only time I didn’t go was in 1986 in Maggiora, Italy, when they wanted me to ride a 125. Kawasaki didn’t have a rider in the 125 class that year so we didn’t have a really good bike. I hadn’t ridden one in two years. I didn’t have the best year in 1986. I won races and could have got championships, but had bad luck. I just kind of turned it down because I was going to be the weak link.”