Coming into Round 3 of the Triple Crown Series in Manitoba Tanner Ward was looking for two confidence-building motos as the opening two races had not gone according to plan. A DNF in the second moto in Kamloops, as well as an off round in Drumheller, had left Tanner well behind in the points standings and not at all where he wanted to be. However, from the moment he arrived at the track this past weekend he liked what he saw and he was excited to ride. This enthusiasm carried over to qualifying and the 450 motos as Tanner ended up with a third overall. It was a hot and challenging day at Round 3 but Tanner was happy with his fitness and obviously happy with his results. We caught up with Tanner as he was recovering at home after a very tough weekend.
MXP: Hey Tanner, what a challenging weekend for you guys in Manitoba. How are you feeling this morning?
I feel okay actually, just a little tired still and beat up. We flew home yesterday so today I’ll probably relax and do a little stretching, but for the most part, I’m still in recovery mode.
For sure you are after those hot motos on Sunday. It was most certainly hot and humid on Sunday and some other endurance events in Manitoba were getting cancelled. How was your fitness and how did you feel during the motos?
I felt good actually, especially in Moto 2. I mean, obviously, it was warm and as soon the races ended the heat just hit you, but overall it was good and I’m happy that my fitness held up. I was a little spent after the first moto but I was able to recover quickly and when I was lining up for Moto 2 I felt ready to go.
That’s great as I’m sure most of the riders didn’t feel so good. You rode strongly in both motos and ended up with third overall, you’re best finish of the season so far.
We’ve been working really hard on the bike and testing a lot. We made a few small changes for Sunday and they definitely work as I felt comfortable. In the opening moto, I felt like I was catching Maff but then I made a rookie move and stalled it. Then in Moto 2, I saw that I was catching Lopez pretty quickly for third so I tried to just maintain my pace and I was able to get him. It was a big step forward obviously after my first two weekends, but we’re headed in the right direction for sure.
Yes, it was a tough first few rounds for you. A mechanical issue caused you to DNF the second moto in Kamloops and then in Drumheller, you didn’t get the starts you were looking for. So with that said it must have felt extra special to spray that champagne on Sunday?
It felt so good because we’ve all been working hard and to get on the podium just kind of validates the effort we’ve been putting in. I feel like if I didn’t have the issue in Kamloops then I could’ve got on the podium there, but that’s racing. Then in Round 2 I just struggled in all three motos. That was on me as I didn’t gel very well with the track, I didn’t get good starts, and after witnessing Brock [Leitner] crash in the morning it set a bad vibe for the day. Anyway, we had a good week last week and once I saw how cool the track in Pilot Mound looked I was excited to ride.
For any rider, it makes such a difference to your mental state when you show up to a track and immediately like what you see. It’s cool you say that as it’s the same whether you’re a pro or an amateur racer.
For sure, even when I saw the GoPro video that the Triple Crown Series posted on Friday I was excited to ride the track. It does make big difference!
You mentioned earlier that you’ve been doing a lot of testing and making changes to the bike. Has that been the toughest thing to adapt to with racing in the 450 class?
Without a doubt getting a 450 to feel comfortable is the hardest thing. One small change here or there can completely alter how they handle so you really have to be careful with what you do. The biggest thing we’ve been trying to do is to make me feel as comfortable on my race bike as I do on my practice bike. Obviously, my practice has a lot more time on it so the chassis is broken in more and feels more forgiving when I’m riding it. So made some adjustments to my race bike and they seem to be working really well. I love the bike and although I’ve never tested this much in my life, I’m really enjoying the process.
You’ve been fortunate enough to be part of some great teams during the past few seasons, how have things been going on the Kawasaki Team. You guys appear to have a pretty good vibe going on in the paddock?
Everything has been great and Chad [Goodwin] has been amazing with helping get my bike right. He not only knows his stuff when it comes to the bike but he also knows how to communicate and sometimes translate what I saying with regards to what the bike is doing. This is the first year that I’ve been the senior rider on the team but it’s been fun having Dylan and Caleb as teammates so far. I’ve been riding at home with Dylan a bunch and it’s been refreshing hanging out with him. He’s still a kid and he doesn’t worry about a lot of things so when I’m worrying about things I shouldn’t be, he’s like why are you worrying about that? And most times he’s right so it’s helping me stay more relaxed. Overall the team is great and the Huber Family are really nice people.
That is great to hear! Okay, you have a weekend off then it’s back to racing. What are your plans for this week?
Well, I’ll take a little more time off than I normally would this week, just because Sunday was so hard on us. I’d like to ride a bit later this week and then on Saturday, I believe I’m going to Walton Raceway as it’s the last day of practice there before the National next weekend. Other than that I’ll just keep training and recovering and getting ready for the east. My trainer Todd Schumlick has my fitness really strong so I’m looking forward to the challenging rounds of the east.
I was going to ask you about Todd as he must have been excited to hear that you were strong in the heat on Sunday?
Todd has been great and he’s really taken my fitness to a new level. He’s been around for a long time and he’s worked with some of the best so it’s good to have him in my corner. There’s so much that goes into fitness and he has it all covered.
Well, enjoy your week, and thank you for chatting with us. Congratulations on your first-ever 450 class podium and best of luck in the east!
Thank you Palms and thanks for calling.