Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Townley Captures First U.S. Win in St. Louis

March 5, 2007, 12:21pm

ST. LOUIS (March 3, 2007) – Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider Ben Townley captured his first career win in the U.S. in AMA Supercross Lites at the Edward Jones Dome. Monster Energy Kawasaki’s James Stewart maintained his top position in the Amp’d Mobile Supercross championship with a second-place finish.

Townley outlasted and outmaneuvered his teammate Darcy Lange, including a thrilling last-lap pass, to put his Kawasaki KX™250F back into title contention in the Eastern Regional AMA Supercross Lites series.

“I put last week’s race out of my mind right away then and there,” said Townley. “I wasn’t really out there tonight to prove a point or anything. I just wanted to ride the best I could and that was the best I had out there. Maybe I got a bit lucky, but I rode smart.

“So many years of hard work and my dreams are finally coming true. I always had wanted to come to America when I was young and race, but we couldn’t afford to do it. My only option was to race in Europe and they did not have any supercross there so winning tonight removed that big monkey off my back.”

Lange looked impressive the entire evening and had a legitimate shot at his first win, before a crash on the last lap ended any hopes he had of pulling out the win. He remounted and finished in sixth place.

Lange sits three points from the lead after two of seven rounds. Townley gained some ground and is now in a tied for sixth, just 15 points back.

Stewart showed he is capable of overcoming adversity after a first-lap incident with Chad Reed dropped him to the back of the pack. After collecting himself and re-starting his Kawasaki KX™450F in 19th place, he began an epic charge to the front of the pack that ultimately ended in a runner-up finish.

Stewart continues to lead both the AMA Supercross and World GP standings by 18 and 19 points, respectively. Teammate Timmy Ferry’s main event got off to a bad start after tangling with Ivan Tedesco on the opening lap. He remounted a lap down and came back to finish 17th, maintaining third in both the AMA Supercross and World GP point standings.

Cernic’s Kawasaki rider Paul Carpenter turned in yet another solid ride and finished seventh in the AMA Supercross division. Teammate Jeff Gibson finished in 12th place.

MotoSport Kawasaki’s Matt Boni finished 19th in the AMA Supercross Lites main event while teammate Bobby Kiniry endured a crash in the last chance qualifier and was unable to qualify for the main event.

RACE RESULTS

Amp’d Mobile Supercross
Edward Jones Dome
March 4, 2007

AMA Supercross Series
1. Ricky Carmichael, Tallahassee, Fla., Suzuki
2. JAMES STEWART, HAINES CITY, FLA., MONSTER ENERGY KAWASAKI
3. Chad Reed, Tampa, Fla., Yamaha
4. Kevin Windham, Centerville, Miss., Honda
5. Nathan Ramsey, Menifee, Calif., Yamaha
6. David Vuillemin, Menifee, Calif., Honda
7. PAUL CARPENTER, ITHACA, N.Y., CERNIC’S KAWASAKI
8. Heath Voss, Mico, Texas, Honda
9. ERIC SORBY, LAKE ELSINORE, TAMER KAWASAKI
10. Cole Siebler, Emmett, Id., Honda

Eastern Regional AMA Supercross Lites
1. BEN TOWNLEY, TALLAHASSEE, FLA., MONSTER ENERGY/PRO CIRCUIT/KAWASAKI
2. Ryan Morais, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha
3. Matt Goerke, Lake Helen, Fla., Yamaha
4. Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., KTM
5. Broc Tickle, Cary, N.C., Yamaha
6. DARCY LANGE, HEMET, CALIF., MONSTER ENERGY/PRO CIRCUIT/KAWASAKI
7. Jeff Alessi, Victorville, Calif., KTM
8. Ryan Sipes, Vine Grove, Ken., Honda
9. Zach Osborne, Abingdon, Va., KTM
10. Justin Brayton, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Yamaha

World Supercross GP Season Standings
1. JAMES STEWART, HAINES CITY, FLA., MONSTER ENERGY KAWASAKI, 254
2. Chad Reed, Tampa, Fla., Yamaha, 236
3. TIMMY FERRY, LARGO, FLA., MONSTER ENERGY KAWASAKI, 186
4. Ricky Carmichael, Tallahassee, Fla., Suzuki, 163
5. David Vuillemin, Menifee, Calif., Honda, 144
6. Heath Voss, Mico, Texas, Honda, 137
7. Michael Byrne, Newnan, Ga., Suzuki, 127
8. Travis Preston, Hesperia, Calif., Honda, 122
9. PAUL CARPENTER, ITHACA, N.Y., CERNIC’S KAWASAKI, 119
10. Ivan Tedesco, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki, 112

AMA Supercross Series Season Standings
1. JAMES STEWART, HAINES CITY, FLA., MONSTER ENERGY KAWASAKI, 210
2. Chad Reed, Tampa, Fla., Yamaha, 191
3. TIMMY FERRY, LARGO, FLA., MONSTER ENERGY KAWASAKI, 149
4. Kevin Windham, Centreville, Miss., Honda, 137
5. Ricky Carmichael, Tallahassee, Fla., Suzuki, 116
6. Michael Byrne, Newnan, Ga., Suzuki, 114
7. Heath Voss, Mico, Texas, Honda, 107
8. Ivan Tedesco, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki, 103
9. David Vuillemin, Menifee, Calif., Honda, 101
10. Travis Preston, Hesperia, Calif., Honda, 97

Eastern Regional AMA Supercross Lites Season Standings
1. Ryan Morais, Temecula, Calif., Suzuki, 40
2. Matt Goerke, Lake Helen, Fla., Yamaha, 40
3. DARCY LANGE, HEMET, CALIF., MONSTER ENERGY/PRO CIRCUIT/KAWASAKI, 37
4. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki, 28
5. Justin Brayton, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Yamaha, 26
6. Zach Osborne, Abingdon, Va., KTM, 26
7. BEN TOWNLEY, TALLAHASSEE, FLA., MONSTER ENERGY/PRO CIRCUIT/KAWASAKI, 25
8. Ryan Sipes, Vine Grove, Ken., Honda, 25
9. Jeff Alessi, Victorville, Calif., KTM, 22
10. Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., KTM, 18