Darcy Stephen Ward[1] (born 4 May 1992 in Nanango, Queensland) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from Australia.
In January 2011, Darcy became Australian Under-21 Champion for the third time at his home track, the North Brisbane Speedway, and thus emulating Chris Holder and Leigh Adams in claiming a straight hat-trick of titles.
On Saturday, 27 August, Ward made his FIM Speedway Grand Prix debut as a Wildcard in Toruń,[8] where he claimed 3rd place.
[9] Largely due to his impressive performance at Toruń, Ward was subsequently nominated as the Wildcard for the season's final Grand Prix at Gorzów Wielkopolski on Saturday, 8 October.
[10] Ward was classified as sixth in the Grand Prix after the meeting was abandoned due to bad weather and deteriorating track conditions after sixteen of the scheduled twenty-three races had been completed.
He also rode for Australia in the 2012 Speedway World Cup Final at the G&B Stadium in Målilla, Sweden where he scored 7 points to help the Aussies to a second-place finish behind Denmark.
On 17 August 2014, Ward was excluded from the Latvian FIM Speedway Grand Prix in Daugavpils after failing an alcohol test prior to the meeting.
[14] The FIM would ultimately suspend Ward from all international competitions for 10 months, which saw him lose his place in the Grand Prix series for the 2015 championship.
[15] After returning from his FIM suspension, Ward signed up with the Swindon Robins in the British Elite League, Zielona Góra in the Polish Ekstraliga replacing the injured Jarosław Hampel, and Piraterna in the Swedish Elitserien.
Despite his lengthy period on the sidelines, Ward would score well for all his clubs, particularly for Swindon where his performances lifted what had been a struggling team prior to his arrival into the league Play-offs.
Ward was riding for his Polish league team Zielona Góra on Sunday 23 August when he suffered a heavy crash in Heat 15 after catching Grudziadz rider Artem Laguta's back wheel.
Poole Pirates owner Matt Ford later reported that Ward had been moved to an undisclosed hospital in the UK where he has regained some movement of his arms.
[21] The track located on the west side of the Kedron Brook, at (27°23′30″S 153°05′25″E / 27.39167°S 153.09028°E / -27.39167; 153.09028) has hosted important events, including the final of the 2024 Australian Speedway Championship.
[24][25] On 20 October 2012, Ward was injured in an altercation outside the Churchill Arms, Sturminster Marshall, whilst out with a group of friends including his Poole Pirates team manager Neil Middleditch.