Bt101

[FlangMasterJ]

That's awesome to hear. Did Alessi pull the holeshot?

Is slicknick uploading the MX?

[FlangMasterJ]

Shit Tomac just won the lites. That's pretty amazing.

[Shorty_925]

Great start for BT, looks like he's in for a solid summer.

[denill]

23 May 2010.

Press release:

Ben Townley enjoys successful return to AMA Pro Racing

New Zealand Motocross star, Ben Townley, successfully made his return to professional racing at the opening round of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship held in Sacramento California this weekend. The former world champ powered his Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil Honda to two strong results posting a 6-7 score in front of sellout crowd at the demanding Hangtown circuit.

Townley qualified in 6th in the early morning timed sessions which gave him a good gate pic going into the first of two motos. A good start saw the Kiwi come out 4th on the first lap as he was fending off a charging Josh Grant in the opening minutes. Grant managed to passTownley for 4th however he hung onto the American and set some blistering lap times as the leading bunch of riders including Reed, Alessi, Millsapps, Grant and Townley were putting on a great show for the thousands of enthusiastic spectators. Townley was looking to set up Grant when he accidently stalled his machine and lost a place to Aussie,Brett Metcalf. 6th place at the chequered flag was a decent finish for his first outing.

Making some setting changes for the second moto, Townley once again grabbed a good start and quickly made a great pass on Ryan Sipes as he moved into a podium position. With Mike Alessi getting the hole-shot and out front, Townley set his sights on fellow Honda racer, Davi Millsaps. ‘BT’ made his move before the halfway point and immediately started to pull away from Millsaps as he rocketed into second behind Alessi. As he tried to reel in the American, Townley made a mistake and went down before the whoop section and lost vital positions and points. He quickly remounted and salvaged 7th spot to end up 6th overall for the day.

“It was a really exciting day for me” admitted the 26-year-old. “ I came into the race today not knowing if my speed was going to be good enough but I am confident that I still have it and feel that the result doesn’t really show what I was capable of today. My fitness still needs some work but that’s to be expected and we still have some work to do on the setup of the bike. The team are doing a great job and I can only see the results getting better from here. We have come away from round 1 with two solid rides and decent points – I made some mistakes which is normal for not having been on the bike for so long but I’m looking forward to the next races and to mixing it with the guys.”

Townley will also compete in round 6 of the FIM Motocross World championship to be held in San Bernardino, California next weekend. “I am really excited about racing the GP in Glen Helen. I really enjoy that circuit and need the extra time on the bike. It will be a good opportunity for us to find some good settings going into round 2 of the AMA Nationals in Texas the week after. It will also be great to race against old rivals and to see lots of my European friends.”

Race results:

Round 1 of 12

450 Class (Moto Finish)

1. Chad Reed, Australia, Kawasaki (1-3)

2. Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., KTM (4-1)

3. Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Honda (3-2)

4. Brett Metcalfe, Australia, Honda (5-4)

5. Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Yamaha (2-10)

6. Ben Townley, New Zealand, Honda (6-7)

7. Ryan Sipes, Flaherty, Ky., Yamaha (7-8)

8. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki (10-6)

9. Ken DeDycker, Belgium, Yamaha (8-11)

10. Andrew Short, Smithville, Tex., Honda (15-5)


450 Class Championship Standings

1. Chad Reed, Australia, Kawasaki, 45

2. Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., KTM, 43

3. Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Honda, 42

4. Brett Metcalfe, Australia, Honda, 34

5. Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Yamaha, 33

6. Ben Townley, New Zealand, Honda, 29

7. Ryan Sipes, Flaherty, Ky., Yamaha, 27

8. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki, 26

9. Ken DeDycker, Belgium, Yamaha, 23

10. Andrew Short, Smithville, Tex., Honda, 22

[scott411]

BT's facebook up date this morning

Ben Townley Hey boys was pretty average a, blew the second moto badly after working up to 2nd. Was awesome to be racing again, was surprised at how my speed was. On to the next one now. Hope all is good in the home land. Thanks for all the support.

[oldguy]

BT's facebook up date this morning

Ben Townley Hey boys was pretty average a, blew the second moto badly after working up to 2nd. Was awesome to be racing again, was surprised at how my speed was. On to the next one now. Hope all is good in the home land. Thanks for all the support.

Cheers for sharing that Scott, I got this thing about facebook and refuse to sign up.

I think he is of to a good start, hopeing for a good series for BT.

Go BT101

[scott411]

good interview here

http://www.cyclenews.com/articles/mo...aited-comeback

[denill]

Date: 12 June 2010.

Press release:

Townley climbs championship ladder after High Point MX National

The Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross championship has moved to the East Coast for the first time for round 3 of the 12 round series. Ben Townley put in a strong performance on his Luca Oil – Troy Lee – Honda with mixed weather conditions putting the Kiwi to the test at the High Point Raceway in Mt Morris, Pennsylvania.

With 6th pick of the gate going into Moto 1, Townley grabbed a good start and was in a top 5 position when he was challenged by Tommy Hahn in the opening stages of the race. Townley took some time to regain his speed but then picked off Hahn and Alessi in the same lap before rain made the High Point circuit muddy and slick. He had left it too late to reel in fellow Honda Racer, Andrew Short, and had to settle for 4th spot.

The sun was welcomed for moto 2 as track conditions dried out however Townley could not get the start he needed and was way back in the pack with a mammoth task ahead. The Kiwi put in an amazing charge from outside the top twenty and within 3 laps had rocketed to 7th place before he stalled his machine and was relegated down the field again. Townley took the bit between his teeth and once again charged back into the top ten when another error saw him go down and lose valuable time and positions. Determined not to give up Townley remounted and put in some blistering laps to finally finish in 6th place, posting the second fastest lap of the race as he came through the field.

“I rode really tight in the first moto and could not find my groove at all so I was not too happy with my performance. Coming into the weekend, we made some changes to the bike which we thought would work better for this kind of track but I just didn’t feel accustomed with the settings at all. When it started to rain towards the end of the moto I felt much better. We changed up a lot of things on the bike for the second moto and instantly I felt more comfortable. My start let me down but I was running such good speed and gelled well with the bike. I made two mistakes which cost me a possible podium but one consolation is that my speed was good. Now I just need to work on consistency and putting two solid motos together. I really enjoy Budds Creek so look forward to improving on my results.” vowed Townley.

Round 4 will take place in Budds Creek, Maryland next weekend.

Race results:

Round 3 of 12

450 Class (Moto Finish)

1. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki (1-1)
2. Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda (3-2)
3. Brett Metcalfe, Australia, Honda (6-3)
4. 4. Ben Townley, New Zealand, Honda (4-6)
5. Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., KTM (7-5)
6. Matt Goerke, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha (5-7)
7. Tommy Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Suzuki (11-4)
8. Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Yamaha (2-24)
9. Ryan Sipes, Vine Grove, Ky., Yamaha (10-11)
10. Kyle Cunningham, Fort Worth, Texas, Yamaha (9-12)

450 Class Championship Standings

1. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki, 126
2. Brett Metcalfe, Australia, Honda, 101
3. Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., KTM, 98
4. Chad Reed, Australia, Kawasaki, 95
5. 5. Ben Townley, New Zealand, Honda, 87
6. Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Yamaha, 82
7. Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda, 79
8. Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Honda, 76
9. Tommy Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Suzuki, 71
10. Kyle Chisholm, Valrico, Fla., Yamaha, 55

[denill]

Date: 21 June 2010.

Press release:

Townley Unfortunate in Budds Creek.

Buds Creek Raceway in Maryland hosted the fourth round of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross championship over the weekend and it was another exciting outing for Lucas Oil – Troy Lee – Honda racer, Ben Townley.

Perfect track and weather conditions would make for a great days racing and after qualifying in 8th spot in the morning timed training sessions, Townley rolled onto the line for moto 1. The Kiwi started inside the top ten and quickly made his way through the pack to settle in fourth behind series leader Ryan Dungey. Giving chase lap after lap Townley battled with Chad Reed and Josh Grant and came under pressure from Reed with five minutes to go. The Australian made his move however Townley seemed to have a technical problem which turned out to be a broken fuel pump, thus forcing him to slow his pace as he nursed his machine home in the final laps to finish 14th.

A slightly better start in moto 2 saw Townley emerge in 6th on the opening lap. He quickly moved past Alessi, and then hunted down first moto winner Andrew Short. ‘BT’ passed the factory Honda rider and then focused on Brett Metcalfe. Making his move on the Australian, Townley moved into 3rd however a charging Josh Grant had followed him through the pack and with two laps to go he stole the podium position from him. Townley would not sit back and let it happen so he set up Grant on an off camber turn and passed him to secure 3rd spot at the checkered flag.

“It’s been another eventful weekend for me” explained Townley “I really enjoyed the track and the organizers put a lot of effort into it so it so it was just perfect for racing. There are still some areas we need to work on and the goal is to put two strong motos together . I know if I can get out the start there is no reason why I can’t win motos and then hopefully the overall. “

The series heads to Thunder Valley in Lakewood Colorado next weekend.

Round 4 of 12

450 Class (Moto Finish)

Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki (3-1)
Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda (1-5)
Chad Reed, Australia, Kawasaki (4-2)
Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Yamaha (5-4)
Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., KTM (2-12)
Brett Metcalfe, Australia, Honda (6-6)
Ryan Sipes, Vine Grove, Ky., Yamaha (7-7)
Ben Townley, New Zealand, Honda (14-3)
Kyle Chisholm, Valrico, Fla., Yamaha (8-8)
Justin Brayton, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Yamaha (10-10)

450 Class Championship Standings

Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki, 171
Chad Reed, Australia, Kawasaki, 135
Brett Metcalfe, Australia, Honda, 131
Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., KTM, 129
Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda, 120
Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Yamaha, 116
Ben Townley, New Zealand, Honda, 114
Ryan Sipes, Vine Grove, Ky., Yamaha, 81
Kyle Chisholm, Valrico, Fla., Yamaha, 81
Tommy Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Suzuki, 81

[Reckless]

Thanks Denhill I look forward to your updates!!

Bugger another technical problem and a bloody good third!!

At least he's still getting results in one moto that will keep him motivated.

He's trying hard, he's going fast, there's still time, hope and potential.

Go Josh!

[scott411]

good interview here

http://www.pulpmx.com/content/eighte...nd-ben-townley

[denill]

Am in Brizzy at the moment. The lucky bastards here get the race live I think. I watched the coverage of the Race 2 and Ben's ride was fabulous. Not a good start then picked them off - including Alessi which was choice to see..........

And we don't get to see it in NZ????????????

[Danger]

good interview here

http://www.pulpmx.com/content/eighte...nd-ben-townley

Thanks Scott, be good to see BT focus on the outdoors in the US and back here in the summer and pass up on the US SX series.

[scott411]

Thanks Scott, be good to see BT focus on the outdoors in the US and back here in the summer and pass up on the US SX series.

i agree it would be cool to see him do something like he mentions here, then we get to see him race here, and hopefully draw some others to come and race him

[Reckless]

good interview here

http://www.pulpmx.com/content/eighte...nd-ben-townley

Cheers scott good read!