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This report is from Ben Townley`s PR man, Glen Dempsey.
Visit BT30 @ his website BenTownleyMX.Com:
It features his latest news, pictures, profile etc. and while you are there, leave a message for the young Kiwi in his `Guestbook`.
Two years ago, teenage prodigy, Ben Townley, blasted onto the world GP motocross scene with his first ever podium in Valkenswaard. The “kiwi kid” has gone through hell and high waters since then but has never lost sight of his life’s ambition. Fifteen thousand spectators watched in awe today as the nineteen year old from Tauop New Zealand showed his fighting spirit as he creeps one step closer to reaching his goal.
As the gate dropped for the first heat, BT lost no time in taking command of the lead. He was closely followed by team-mates De Reuver and Rattray when a lapse in concentration caught out the Kiwi and he hit the ground. Townley managed to keep his bike running and rejoined in fourth position. In no time he hunted down the front runners and passed both KTM Champ team-mates to reclaim the lead. Both Townley and Rattray were untouchable as they pulled a sizeable gap on the rest of the field with BT finally taking the chequered flag.
“I’m glad I had that fall in the opening minutes. I wasn’t concentrating enough and it gave me a wake up call. I put my head down after that and before I knew it I had caught and passed Tyla and Marc. It flowed from there and I was really happy to grab the win,” said Townley.
Starters orders were given for race two and as the pack swooped through the high speed start chicane orange riders were spotted near the front once again. Townley and De Reuver were the first to re-enter the start arena and the battle was on! De Reuver took the lead from BT on lap two, much to the delight of the roaring Dutch crowd. Townley wisely followed and took a little time to plan his counter attack. A wide line by the Dutchman was capitalized on by BT and he regained the lead. De Reuver tried all he could to answer back and eventually succeeded with five minutes to go only to have BT pass him back again a lap later in a heart wrenching game of cat and mouse. The spectators were expecting a fight to the finish when bad luck struck for De Reuver. The Dutchman’s gear lever was damaged and BT was able to coast to his second victory of the day.
“Marc set a blistering pace in the opening stages and I knew I had to tag onto him if I had any chance of winning. I think he started too fast however I eventually managed to get past and I slowed our pace down by two seconds a lap – I didn’t want my tongue hanging in my front wheel. I knew we couldn’t survive the entire race riding that fast. Marc stuck on me and then made a pass towards the end of the race. I passed him back and he had some misfortune with his shifter. The last eight days have really been tough for me. I tore a tendon in my left ankle and started off on crutches for a few days and stayed off the bike too. I have to thank the team of people who helped me keep positive – I owe this victory to them,” commented the Kiwi.
BT now leads the MX 2 world championship rankings by seventeen points and the factory KTM rider will be aiming on adding to that points advantage next week at the fifth round in Teuchenthal, Germany.
