MOTOCROSS : AT SAN BERNARDINO : For Bayle, a Split Adds Up to a Victory

Honda’s Jean-Michel Bayle and Kawasaki’s Jeff Ward swapped first and second places in two world championship 500cc motos Sunday, but Bayle, the Frenchman who lives in Redondo Beach, demonstrated once again that he is the finest motocross rider in the world.

Bayle, by virtue of having the faster finish in the second moto, was declared overall winner of the 19th U.S. Grand Prix at Glen Helen Park, final event in the 11-race world championship season.

Ward, 30, trying for his first Grand Prix victory in a career that has seen him win seven national championships, won the first moto in dramatic fashion when he ran down Bayle after trailing by as much as 10 seconds. Bayle, 22, running laps two seconds quicker than any other rider, jumped off to a huge lead and appeared headed for a runaway when his rear brakes began to fade.

“I was riding very fast, with very good start, when my (rear) brakes began to go away,” Bayle said. “I tried to get through corners too fast and made little mistakes. You can’t make mistakes, even little ones, against a rider like Ward.

“The crew made some changes between motos and everything worked fine in the second moto.”

Bayle, who won the world 125cc championship when he was 19 and added the 250cc title the following year, came back in the second moto to race away and win by more than 30 seconds over Ward.

Georges Jobe, the newly crowned world champion from Belgium, was third in both motos.

“I do not have a U.S. passport, but I consider myself an American rider,” Bayle said. “I ride here all year.”

The win capped a remarkable season for Bayle, from Manosque, France, who came to the U.S. two years ago because he wanted to ride against the best. He won the Paris Supercross in January, the biggest race in Europe, and then came to the U.S. to win the Supercross and national 250cc championships. He leads in the national 500cc series after one event.