Who The Heck Is Caleb Ward?

Hailing from Ravenshoe in far north Queensland, Caleb Ward is a name not many knew prior to 2014. With two Overall wins for the season so far, the 17-year-old is sitting sixth in the Monster Energy MX Nationals’ MX2 class heading into the final round at Coolum this weekend. Transmoto’s Jackson Reardon caught up with Caleb to find out a little more about him, as well as his future goals and perhaps some inside information on what he’s going to be up to next season…

Tell us a bit about yourself, Caleb. Where you are from and what you are interested in? 

Well I’m from a town in far north Queensland called Ravenshoe, it’s about two hours from Cairns. I’m mainly interested in motorbikes, but also BMX and MTB riding. I’m not the best at other sports – if it’s got handlebars I’m sweet, but when it comes to anything else I’m really unco!

What got you into MX?

When I was three, Mum and Dad actually went to Toyworld and were planning to buy me a little electric Go-Kart, but the store manager told them they were no good and to go to the local bike shop and get a 50, and that’s where it all really started from. Dad did a bit of trail bike riding but my parents weren’t really into racing previously, so it was a bit of luck! I had my first race when I was four and I’ve been into it ever since!

When did you realise you wanted to pursue it as a career?

Well like many people it was all I did as a kid, I rode for hours every chance I got. But basically it was always a dream; I was a little way off the front guys in Juniors into my last year or two where I pushed more to the front. As I got older it started to click and I also started to take it a bit more seriously and put some big effort into my training. I dropped out of school this year to give it a good shot, and if it didn’t work out I would go back to school, but it’s going okay!

Why jump straight into the Pro Lites when you are still eligible for MXD (Under 19s)? 

The guys in MXD are the people I’ve grown up racing with, and I won my last year in Juniors at the Aussie titles in 2012 and was looking to race MXD all last year. Then I broke my arm before the start of last year’s MXD season, and had a few other injuries so I only did the last two rounds. I got a third at Coolum which was really good. And I knew that this year MXD would be the same group of guys, and I just wanted to jump up and race the older guys, learn from them and get my name out there.

The last five rounds have been wild for you with two round wins, a couple rougher weekends and then a solid sixth last weekend. How do you want to close out the season?

Basically I want to win, moto wins and the Overall. I haven’t got a win in any of the last motos of the day this year, so I really want to do that – it’s one of my major goals for this weekend. I’d also like to improve my qualifying as I haven’t been up the top yet. It’d be great to get on pole this weekend!

What are your plans for next season, and what are long term goals within the sport? 

I’ve had a chat with a few teams. I haven’t yet signed anything but hopefully I’m pretty close to agreeing to a deal . It’s looking like I’ll be racing the Pro Lites again, on a four-stroke, though, which will be good. Long term, I want to win a title here in Australia, than I’d love to go to Europe, do well, and progress into America. This year has been the first step towards that, so hopefully I can just keep it going and get over there.