{"id":93599,"date":"2015-01-21T14:22:40","date_gmt":"2015-01-21T04:22:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=93599"},"modified":"2020-08-20T17:54:10","modified_gmt":"2020-08-20T07:54:10","slug":"fans-fight-for-speedway-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2015\/01\/21\/fans-fight-for-speedway-star\/","title":{"rendered":"Fans Fight For Speedway Star"},"content":{"rendered":"
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International speedway rider Darcy Ward (Photo: darcyward.blog)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

January 21, 2015<\/strong><\/p>\n

An online petition has been launched to press racing authorities to lift a ban on Nanango-born speedway rider Darcy Ward to allow him to ride in the 2015 international season.<\/p>\n

The champion has an impressive list of sporting achievements to his name but has also been caught up in several off-track controversies in recent years.<\/p>\n

Ward, 22, won the world U21 speedway championship title in 2009 and 2010, and the Australia U21 title in 2009, 2010 and 2011.<\/p>\n

In 2012, Ward and a friend were charged with assaulting a teenage girl but were found not guilty by a British jury.<\/p>\n

In 2013, Ward won the Speedway Grand Prix of Denmark and the historic “Golden Helmet of Pardubice” in the Czech Republic, one of the oldest motorcycle speedway competitions in the world. <\/p>\n

However, in the same year, he appeared in Ipswich Magistrates Court in Queensland on a drink-driving charge.<\/p>\n

In August last year, Ward allegedly failed a pre-meeting alcohol test at the Latvian Speedway Grand Prix.<\/p>\n

The F\u00e9d\u00e9ration Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) temporarily suspended Ward from all racing but a final hearing into the incident has been delayed.<\/p>\n