MOTOCROSS AT SAN BERNARDINO : Ward Might Have Edge at Hot, Dry Glen Helen

Jeff Ward has won seven national motocross championships, more than any other rider, but he has never won an international Grand Prix.

Today, in the 18th U.S. 500cc Grand Prix at Glen Helen Park, the stocky Kawasaki rider from San Juan Capistrano hopes to rectify that gap by beating world champion Georges Jobe of Belgium and the rest of the world 500cc series riders in two 40-minute motos that will conclude the world championship season.

American riders have won five of the last seven U.S. Grand Prix, and Ward and teen-ager Damon Bradshaw of Charlotte, N.C., appear to be the best bets for continuing the domination. An ally will be the 100-degree heat.

“The heat may bother the Europeans, but I have been training in it and I like it,” Ward said after testing the hillside track, which is slightly longer than a mile. World championship motos are 40 minutes, 10 minutes longer than national motos and twice as long as stadium Supercross events.

“This course is smoother and easier than ones we race during the year, and it is quite fast,” Ward said. “There are few places to pass because it is mostly straightaways and jumps, so the racing will be close. Stamina will be most important.”

Stamina is Ward’s strong point. At 30, he is the most durable of American riders, and he is the only one to win major American Motorcyclist Assn. motocross titles in every class (125cc, 250cc, 500cc and Supercross).

“The worst part about riding 40 minutes is that your feet get so hot they get blistered, and you have to keep on going. The heat itself won’t be so bad, but because it is so dry here your mouth will be dry before four laps are done and you won’t be able to swallow.”

Ward picks Jean-Michel Bayle of France as the rider to beat. Bayle is French, but is not considered a European challenger because he is riding with an AMA license and has raced exclusively in the United States this season.

Bayle, 22, has won the Supercross and national 250cc championships and is leading in the national 500cc series. He has won the world 125cc and 250cc championships, but, like Ward, has never won a 500cc Grand Prix.

“If Bayle wins, we will claim him for America,” said Roger DeCoster, the five-time world champion from Belgium who is the U.S. Grand Prix race director.