Ben Townley Challenged in Texas Scorcher
New Zealander and former world motocross champion Ben Townley, endured a challenging second round of the Lucas Oil Outdoor Motocross series held at Wortham, Texas in scorching weather conditions over the weekend. Entering the race with confidence from his stunning second moto MX GP victory in Glen Helen a week prior , Townley was looking to gain his first podium of the AMA outdoor season.
The Lucas Oil - Troy Lee - Honda racer did not get the start he needed in moto 1, however Townley showed great speed as he carved his way through the field coming from outside the top ten. BT 101, pushed his way into a podium position behind race leader, Ryan Dungey, and tried to keep the American honest over the 30 min + 2 lap Moto. Aussie rival, Chad Reed, closed down Townley in the dying stages and managed to pip the Kiwi for second as BT crossed the finish line in 3rd for his first AMA podium finish of the year.
A second moto, pile-up saw BT tangle with another rider. He stood up from the carnage with a torn shirt and grazed back and side but after a quick check by the Asterisks attending medical staff, he opted to remount and give chase to the pack. Running fast lap times he quickly made up lost positions and moved into 14th place with 5 minutes left on the clock. The tremendous effort had left Townley with nothing left in the can and under the sweltering heat he had to relinquish two positions as he came home in 16th spot.
“The organizers did an awesome job of the track by bringing in some extra sand which created a lot of ruts and rough sections which I enjoyed. I qualified 5th which I was pretty happy with and it gave me a good pick of the gate for both motos. I made a mistake in the second turn of moto 1 and almost went down so I had a lot of work to do to come through the pack from outside the top ten. I had to pace myself during the moto and eventually caught Metcalf to take second but then Reed got by me with two laps to go – he had a good line in the sand whoops and used that to jump by me. The second moto I got tangled with another rider and got burnt either by a tire or a header pipe so I was hurting quite a lot but managed to get going and pull back a lot of time. The effort I put in took its toll at the end of the moto but I was happy to salvage some points. I’m looking forward to Mt Morris next weekend, it’s a track I’ve always enjoyed with the elevation changes so hoping to put two strong motos together,” explained Townley.
Round 3 of the 12 round series heads to High Point Raceway in Mt Morris, Pennsylvania next weekend.
www.bentownleymx.com
Race results:
Round 2 of 12
450 Class (Moto Finish)
Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki (1-1)
Chad Reed, Australia, Kawasaki (2-3)
Kyle Regal, Kemp, Texas, Honda (6-2)
Brett Metcalfe, Australia, Honda (7-4)
Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Yamaha (5-10)
Tommy Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Suzuki (4-12)
Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., KTM (12-5)
Ben Townley, New Zealand, Honda (3-16)
Kyle Chisholm, Valrico, Fla., Yamaha (9-9)
Michael Byrne, Newnan, Ga., Yamaha (8-11)
450 Class Championship Standings
Chad Reed, Australia, Kawasaki, 87
Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki, 76
Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., KTM, 68
Brett Metcalfe, Australia, Honda, 66
Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Yamaha, 60
Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Honda, 55
Ben Townley , New Zealand, Honda, 54
Kyle Regal, Kemp, Texas, Honda, 51
Tommy Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Suzuki, 43
Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda, 37
