Ben Townley Scores Podium in Thunder Valley
Lucas Oil – Troy Lee Designs – Honda racer, Ben Townley has successfully scored his first overall podium of the season at round 5 of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross championship held in Denver Colorado. The gutsy New Zealander posted a 6-2 score for second overall and now has his sights set on his first AMA Motocross victory.
Townley had one of his best starts of the season in moto 1 and was positioned in 2nd behind fellow Honda rider Andrew Short. BT hit a wet patch of circuit going into a turn and lost his front, sending him to the ground. He quickly remounted around 10th and gave chase and quickly moved up the ladder again. After securing 4th position BT hunted down Brett Metcalf in 3rd spot and was about to make his move on the Australian when he went down again. Remounting for the second time, he salvaged 6th position but ran out of time to make a move on Kyle Cunningham and Metcalf as he closed them down on the final lap.
Determined not to make the same mistakes again, Townley was motivated going into moto 2 and once again grabbed a good start. He quickly moved from 4th to 3rd and then set up Andrew Short to move into second behind series leader Ryan Dungey. From there he rode a strong, steady race which earned him a well deserved podium and second overall for the day.
"I felt really good in the first moto but then washed out on the first lap. I came back really strong and was looking for a podium spot when I went down again behind Brett and that pretty much took the wind out my sails. I’m over these small crashes and mistakes but guess when you are pushing that hard these things can happen, but in the second moto I sort of backed it down a little and it paid off with a podium which is great for my confidence and for the team." explained Townley.
Townley still occupies 7th spot in the overall standings however the Kiwi is only a mere 16 points off second place Brett Metcalfe with Ryan Dungey sporting a 51 point over the Australian as the series hits the halfway mark next weekend in Red Bud – Buchanan, Michigan.
Race results:
Round 5 of 12
450 Class (Moto Finish)
1. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki (2-1)
2. Ben Townley, New Zealand, Honda (6-2)
3. Brett Metcalfe, Australia, Honda (4-4)
4. Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Yamaha (1-10)
5. Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda (8-3)
6. Kyle Regal, Kemp, Texas, Honda (9-6)
7. Kyle Chisholm, Valrico, Fla., Yamaha (7-8)
8. Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., KTM (12-5)
9. Chad Reed, Australia, Kawasaki (10-7)
10. Justin Brayton, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Yamaha (13-9)
450 Class Championship Standings
1. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki, 218
2. Brett Metcalfe, Australia, Honda, 167
3. Chad Reed, Australia, Kawasaki, 160
4. Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., KTM, 154
5. Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda, 153
6. Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Yamaha, 152
7. Ben Townley, New Zealand, Honda, 151
8. Kyle Chisholm, Valrico, Fla., Yamaha, 108
9. Tommy Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Suzuki, 101
10. Kyle Regal, Kemp, Texas, Honda, 94
