Vid of BT 101 in action

[yokel]

here's a vid of ben on his new ride, looks like he's in cruise control

http://idiotboyz.com/perristownley.html

[Pierce]

looks pretty smooth out there tho

[flyingcr250]

why cant we have nice smooth tracks in new zealand?? always with the rutted out shit you pay an arm and a leg to ride on, but no maintainance gets done. :mad:

[clmintie]

Good to see him riding again...............

As for nice groomed,smooth tracks, pretty hard to go past Ardmore, power hoed and watered every week.....

[FlangMasterJ]

why cant we have nice smooth tracks in new zealand?? always with the rutted out shit you pay an arm and a leg to ride on, but no maintainance gets done. :mad:

I guess thats what makes us such good riders.

[krad_nz]

Sandpit gets groomed once per week!

[scott411]

why cant we have nice smooth tracks in new zealand?? always with the rutted out shit you pay an arm and a leg to ride on, but no maintainance gets done. :mad:

have you never been to Harrisville???? always groomed and watered

$10 to ride, ($20 if you are not a member)

most of these US tracks are $25 - $40 (US) a day to ride, and everyone signs the waiver at the gate (incl spectators)

but really cool to see BT back riding, and a smile back on his face,

[kezzafish]

wow, that track looks awesome, balls out. Some of those riders around him were pretty quick. Hope that wasn't joe bloggs day at the local track?

[flyingcr250]

wow, that track looks awesome, balls out. Some of those riders around him were pretty quick. Hope that wasn't joe bloggs day at the local track?

i bet BT was probably thinking the same thing. ha ha ha

[kezzafish]

i bet BT was probably thinking the same thing. ha ha ha

ha, yeah. would be a bit of a worry. He was passing most of the time tho. Anyone got any idea what this video is of? practice laps for a moto? just a local track hoon?

[flyingcr250]

ha, yeah. would be a bit of a worry. He was passing most of the time tho. Anyone got any idea what this video is of? practice laps for a moto? just a local track hoon?

must be practice. is perris raceway in california?? ive heard of it before

[kezzafish]

must be practice. is perris raceway in california?? ive heard of it before

yeah, googled it and apparently it's the oldest MX track in California. Go hard that man, awesome vid, cheers for posting it

[scott411]

practice in California used to be open, as in all in at once, 65's 85c beginners and national pros, some tracks even left Quads in thier to, it can be crazy to watch,

they have sorted it out a bit better in the last couple of years or so, a few years ago when i went to the practice tracks to get some idea's on how to run Harrisville better, and i was shocked, we had a lot more saftey features than they did,

one of the good features of a lot of tracks tho is they have multipul tracks going on, normally a mini track, then what they call a 'vet track' which is a toned down national track, then the full on national track which had bigger jumps,

i think this video is at Competitive Edge, another track in California

[denill]

When is BT going to race again? :2thumbsup

[scott411]

When is BT going to race again? :2thumbsup

lastest update is maybe Daytona SX, late feb, he is back testing on Sx tracks now,

[denill]

From HH Media:

Is Ben Townley to quit MOTOCROSS ?

Unconfirmed exclusive information out of the USA says that Kiwi motocross star Ben Townley is heading home in three weeks. His injuries have prevented him from getting back to full fitness and he will take two years off to fully recover.

Townley won 12 NZ National Titles and headed to Europe at the age of 16. He was MX2 World Champion in 2004. In 2005 he was 3rd overall MX1 World Championship. In the USA in 2007 he was AMA SX Lites East Coast Champion and AMA MX Lites Vice Champion.

When Townley joined Honda Red Bull Racing in 2008, it seemed like a dream come true. The squad included Davi Millsaps, Andrew Short and Ivan Tedesco and the injured Ben Townley. Unfortunately, 'Lady Luck' had other plans for the then 23-year-old.

"I had just started with Honda and I was doing some testing to get ready for the East Coast Supercross series, said Townley. "I came up a little short on a jump, really hurting my leg. I had pretty extensive surgery on my heel, and the process just entailed a real long rehab. I probably had a good three months off."

With his recovery complete, Townley expected to explode onto the scene as a serious contender in the outdoor Motocross season.

Once again, 'Lady Luck' would deal him a difficult hand.

"Right before the start of the Motocross season, and after working so hard to get ready to make a comeback, I had a crash in practice, really hurting my shoulder. I kept preparing and tried to be ready for the opening round, but when I took to the track at Glen Helen, I just felt I wasn't strong enough. In the practice crash right before the opener, I did something to my wrist and I was totally weak on my right side. After the first two rounds we decided I needed some time off the bike to get healthy, and it had turned out that my shoulder injury was quite extensive. I had to have it operated on."

Townley's dogged determination never flagged, but he needed some time to recharge. So he took a vacation to New Zealand, marrying longtime girlfriend Lucy and spending some quality time with his family.

Whether his Honda Red Bull contract has anything to do with what is going on at Honda we have yet to find out.

The following report came out from Reuters, Alastair Himmer over the weekend:

TOKYO (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co may withdraw from most forms of motorcycle racing in a bid to cut costs, although it has no plans to pull out of MotoGP.

Japan's second-largest carmaker, which has already left Formula One, hopes to save an estimated 3 billion yen (24 million pounds) as the worldwide economic crisis continues to bite.

"We have not formally decided yet but we have been looking into the option of pulling out," Honda's Akemi Ando told Reuters on Friday.

"It is something we have been thinking about for a while since we pulled out of Formula One. We have no plans to leave MotoGP."

Motocross, motorcycle trials and other forms of off-road racing will be the main victims of Honda's latest cost-cutting measures.

Honda, has forecast a 190 billion yen operating loss for the fiscal second half ending in March.

The worldwide economic downturn was blamed for Honda's decision to quit F1 and the subsequent withdrawal of rival carmakers Subaru and Suzuki from the world rally championship. Japanese motorcycle maker Kawasaki also followed suit earlier this month by pulling out of MotoGP.

[secondfield]

ahhhhh shit...

[denill]

ahhhhh shit...

Yeah, but really a LOT worse than that..........

Just thought of BT this morn when I read the Houston results and reflected on the injuries and long periods of rehab he's had to endure!!!!!! :argh:

Will BT be remebered for his huge potential that never materialised?? I hope not. But what tremendous hurdles he's had to jump.

Good luck Ben :yes: :yes:

[takitimu]

Will BT be remebered for his huge potential that never materialised?? I hope not. But what tremendous hurdles he's had to jump.

Good luck Ben :yes: :yes:

It'd be really rough for BT if he does not race again, but compared with say Katherine Prumm you'd have to think he has better than even odds.

Mind you Honda pulling out of all bike racing bar MotoGP, that would be massive & I really struggle with the analogy with F1, MX/SX/Off road are all directly related to products you can & do buy off the shelf, F1 on the other hand is some weird sport where 2 passes occur a weekend & mega millions get funnelled into Bernie Ecclestone's retirement fund, whilst the cars are only slightly closer to production vehicles than NASCAR.

[Teava]

Scott can you clear this up? is it for real?

[denill]

Glen Dempsey said: <a href=http://www.bikesportnz.com/news/?p=1436#more-1436>A report that world 2004 MX2 motocross champion Ben Townley will take an injury sabbatical is “premature and ill-informed”:</A>

[secondfield]

He should actually come home for a while if thats the case.

Once Coppins finishes this year in europe he's coming back too.

Imagine the racing if these guys were regularly back competing in NZ / Aust ...

A Coppins, Townley, Hurley, Cooper, King race ...

Josh reckons Ben is his favorite guy to go bar to bar with..

We would smoke the Aussies at the oceania series.... :2thumbsup

[denill]

Date: 28 January 2009

Torrance CA: American Honda announced today that Honda Red Bull Racing rider Ben Townley ¹s return to competition will be delayed due to rehabilitation complications. Honda Red Bull Racing team manager Erik Kehoe stated, “Ben has been training on his CRF450R for about a month and continues to have difficulty with his shoulder. He is working with Red Bull’s elite athlete training staff and will be meeting with several shoulder specialists to identify the cause of the problem and choose the best course of action to expedite his recovery. Our goal is to make sure he is 100 percent before he returns to racing.”

It may be several weeks before Townley can establish a course of action for treatment. American Honda will provide additional details when they are available.