Darcy Ward has been caught up in more off-the-track scandal after he failed an alcohol test and was banned from riding in Latvia.

The former King's Lynn Stars sensation was excluded from this afternoon's Speedway Grand Prix meeting by an FIM jury for failing a pre-meeting sample. The 22-year-old's misdemeanours overshadowed round eight of this year's world championship – which was delayed almost 24 hours after Saturday's race-night was postponed due to wet weather.

Ward told Eurosport: 'I got some bad news (Saturday) while I was having some dinner and had a couple of drinks. Obviously I had one too many. (I was) marginally (over the limit). I wasn't hydrated. We've had a long week here in Riga and I didn't eat properly and I wasn't hydrated unfortunately. It's the worst day of my life. It will never happen again. I should have hydrated. It was only marginal and I'm having a bad time at the moment. It is what it is. Of course I'll be back. I'm sorry to the sport and all the fans.'

The Poole Pirates talent, who has dropped from third to seventh, has developed a bad-boy reputation since he was caught taking drugs last year. The Aussies ended up in court but was found not guilty of sexual assault charges in 2012. It is not known if, or how, Ward will be punished for his latest scandal.

On the track, Lynn's Kenneth Bjerre reached his first final of the campaign, and finished fourth, while Niels-Kristian Iversen failed to reach the semis. Krzysztof Kasprzak won the event but Greg Hancock still leads the championship by five points.