For O’Mara and Ward, Rose Bowl Ride Is Trip Into Past

Johnny O’Mara and Jeff Ward are the old guard of motocross at 28. They are old enough to remember what racing was like five years ago when O’Mara won the Supercross at the Rose Bowl, and Ward won the American Motorcyclist Assn. stadium series championship the same night.

The Kawasaki teammates will be the only riders left from the 1985 event who will race tonight when the Camel Supercross series returns to the Rose Bowl for the 20-lap Coors Extra Gold Super Challenge.

“I can’t believe it was five years ago,” O’Mara said. “I remember it like it was last year. Winning was easier back then. About the only ones who figured to win were David Bailey, Wardy, RJ (Rick Johnson) and myself. Nowadays there are so many guys, it makes it tough to even finish up close.”

O’Mara, who will turn 29 Sunday, was born in Pasadena and lives in Simi Valley. He won five races and the Supercross championship in 1984, but his last stadium victory came in the ’85 Rose Bowl race.

“I know I’m older and wiser, and I think I’m riding as good as ever,” he said, “but if you don’t get off the line quick and stay out of trouble, you’re not going to have a chance against all the new guys coming up.

“Last week (in Las Vegas), I rode really well and finished seventh. I’m looking forward to riding in the Rose Bowl again. The course the Mickey Thompson people laid out seems to be a good one, and maybe Pasadena will be good luck for me.”

Ward, the Supercross champion in 1985 and ‘87, won in the Rose Bowl in 1984.

“The big difference is that a few years ago there were so few top riders that I could ride injured and still finish in the top five, maybe even second,” Ward said. “Now it’s a struggle to get in the top 10.”

He rode in pain most of last season after injuring his foot during practice for the season opener at Anaheim. Ward missed the first five races but returned to win the national 500cc championship and become the first rider in motocross history to win championships in all four major AMA series.

From Mission Viejo, he won the national 250cc in 1985 and ’88 and the 125cc in ’84 to go with his 500cc and Supercross titles.

Ward is seventh in the standings this season with a victory in Atlanta.

Jeff Matiasevich, a rookie Kawasaki rider from La Habra Heights, is leading with 134 points, to 120 for defending series champion Jeff Stanton, a Honda factory rider.