BT wins again

[FlangMasterJ]

Fuck yeah! Thanks Danger for the lap by lap run down. Man I'm stoked. Ben is a weapon!

[ArcherWC]

Yeeha, go Ben, I had a feeling he might give everyone a shake up outdoors

[paturoa]

Race start times are 8:00 and 10:30. Live laptime thing may be my background at work this morning!

So much for background - fecking thing never worked all morning - just me!

[paturoa]

"You must spread some reputation around before giving it to Danger again"

Thanks dude - updates were good.

[chris]

Word has it that Ben Townley is going to be on Honda's next year.

Who's word was that...?

[Danger]

Its just a rumour, unconfirmed and premature by the sound of it. AMA update and change pages that you read, here is the latest.

With all the silly season talk about Ivan Tedesco and Ben Townley moving to Team Honda for 2008, I cornered Honda Team Manager Eric Kehoe as he walked into the red semi this morning. According to Kehoe they have been talking to “several riders about next season”, adding that the reports of Tedesco and Townley being signed were premature. My own thoughts are that it’s true they’ve been talking with Tedesco and Townley, but I doubt anything is official. Stay tuned….

http://www.amamotocross.com/article....baf2a49912244d

[chris]

Its just a rumour, unconfirmed and premature by the sound of it. AMA update and change pages that you read, here is the latest.

With all the silly season talk about Ivan Tedesco and Ben Townley moving to Team Honda for 2008, I cornered Honda Team Manager Eric Kehoe as he walked into the red semi this morning. According to Kehoe they have been talking to “several riders about next season”, adding that the reports of Tedesco and Townley being signed were premature. My own thoughts are that it’s true they’ve been talking with Tedesco and Townley, but I doubt anything is official. Stay tuned….

http://www.amamotocross.com/article....baf2a49912244d

Maybe I'll ask him next time he calls the office!

[FlangMasterJ]

Here are some great shots of the Hangtown MX

http://stevebruhn.com/News07/MX01/QL.htm

[Danger]

Thats site is awesome! Thanks Flangy!

[paturoa]

BT is up again this weekend at Mt Morris.

[Danger]

“It was a great day; I was a little gutted up after the first moto where I didn’t really ride my own race. We went back and looked at a few things, and made a few changes. Then went back to the line and my Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki ripped a great holeshot” exclaimed Ben Townley after taking his first AMA Motocross overall.



No Looking Back



Townley didn’t even know that it was teammate Villopto who was his main competition for the win, saying that “when I’m out on the track I wasn’t really racing Ryan; I was just racing myself. I wasn’t looking back at all; I was just looking forward. I didn’t really know it was him until about half way through the race when I took a bit of a peek to see who it was. He doesn’t have that number 1 plate on his bike for nothing – he’s going to be a strong competitor all year”.



Star Struck



“I’ve said it a lot already this year, and I may be starting to sound like a bit of a broken record but to me it’s amazing. As a kid growing up I never got to see Ricky Carmichael race; or guys like Emig and Lamson, by me going to Europe. To me, being here and winning on the same day that Ricky Carmichael does is amazing. It’s something that I will look back on in my career and feel amazing. New Zealand is so far away - to win a national today is hard to put into words” said Townley.



Small Country



Wrapping things up, Townley added that “New Zealand does not have a big population; but we do have a big dirt bike riding population. The tracks are awesome; I think that you would be surprised if you came down there”.



Contract Time



Townley’s Manager Glen Dempsey was at Hangtown and told me he would be spending a few days in California before flying to Japan for the World Motocross GP. Dempsey also manages World Motocross point’s leader Josh Coppins. Does Dempsey’s visit to California involve contract negotiations?

http://www.amamotocross.com/article....5e0ab3f8137d2f

[Danger]

Saturdays qualifying for this weeks National, Ben sets fastest time!

1 101 02:03.953 Practice 4 Ben Townley Tallahassee, FL Kawasaki KX250F
2 1 02:05.103 Practice 4 Ryan D Villopoto Poulsbo, WA Kawasaki KX250F
3 24 02:05.256 Practice 4 Joshua M Grant Riverside, CA Honda CRF250R
4 123 02:05.757 Practice 4 Brett Metcalfe Murrieta, CA Kawasaki KX250F
5 577 02:06.870 Practice 4 Martin Davalos Cairo, GA KTM 250SXF
6 33 02:06.941 Practice 4 Matthew C Goerke Lake Helen, FL Yamaha YZ250F
7 108 02:07.390 Practice 4 Joaquim Rodrigues Temecula, CA KTM 250SXF
8 52 02:07.452 Practice 4 Thomas K Hahn Decatur, TX Honda CRF250R
9 338 02:07.556 Practice 4 Jason D Lawrence Carlsbad, CA Yamaha YZ250F
10 54 02:07.594 Practice 4 Robert S Kiniry La Fayette, NY Kawasaki KX250F
11 62 02:07.666 Practice 4 Ryan M Dungey Belle Plaine, MN Suzuki RM-Z250
12 58 02:07.808 Practice 4 Joshua R Hill Yoncalla, OR Yamaha YZ250F
13 141 02:08.683 Practice 4 Steve Boniface Corona, CA Kawasaki KX250F
14 168 02:08.807 Practice 4 Zach M Osborne Abingdon, VA KTM 250SXF
15 75 02:09.011 Practice 4 Broc Oneal Tickle Cary, NC

Word is that Ben definately wants to ride the 450's next year, just with who? Apparantly Honda was looking promising but something fell through at the last moment. Again just silly rumours. I would like to see him take Ricky's spot on Suzuki.

[denill]

Great stuff Ben. Interesting - a CycleNewsPoll says 392 votes for RV and 90 for BT as the '07 outdoor champ. 392 are wrong, I reckon! What do ya all reckon? And thanks Danger. Your updates are invaluable.

[Danger]

A few years back on KTMtalk.com I was predicting to the Yanks that Ben would be a World Champion one day and sooner rather than later. Next year he was.
Earlier this year I predicted that one day Ben would be the fastest man in the USA. I think thats not far off.
Rumour also has it that Bubba only wants to ride Supa X next year. I'm betting he don't want a piece of Ben Townley coming at him.

[Danger]

Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Ben Townley is having an excellent season, the kind of season that he should have had last year when injuries sidelined him. Now healthy, the New Zealander is making up for lost time. With a Supercross Lites Championship and his overall win at last weekend’s Hangtown Classic, BT101 is my pick to win the summer’s AMA Toyota Motocross Lites Championship Presented by FMF. Likely one of the most sought after riders, if not the most sought after rider for 2008, the 22 year old World Motocross Champion is in a great position; but first he wants to concentrate on his task at hand – winning another race.



Ben, congratulations on your first AMA Motocross win last weekend; replay what went on.



The first moto was not how I expected it to go at all. I got out of the gate pretty good, and then I went down – after that I just pretty much rode like a girl. I was tight and got caught up in riding with Dungey, Josh Grant, and Ryan; at one point we were all sort of together – I wasn’t going forward at all. So I went back to the truck between motos and worked in my head what I wanted to do; then came out in the second moto and did exactly that.



This could be an obviously dumb question based on your Hangtown win; but is it difficult to compete on a track that you have never ridden before?



No not really; I dealt with that all through the Europe days where I would go to new circuits all the time. I think that any rider that wants to be great has to adapt to any type of track.



With you living in Florida, do you have any preference over west coast or east coast tracks?



No, not at all; you’ve got to race them all - I try not to have any favorites. You’ve got to be good at all twelve rounds, and make it through every moto - and you must be consistent.



Probably the Lites Championship is your main goal; with that said will you simply try to win every moto, or take a more strategic approach?



Well, at the moment I am going out there to do my best and go for those moto wins. I didn’t really know what to expect last weekend, I was just going in there to sort of feel my way through it a little bit. Now I think I know where I am at, and what I need to work on. There’s going to be a lot of guys up there week in and week out; but just not every weekend. So you just have to go for those moto wins and get as many points as possible.



Ben, you are a pretty modest guy, but many would say that you crushed Villopoto last weekend in that second moto.



You know, Ryan does not have that number 1 plate for nothing! He proved that and won the Championship last year. That’s my main goal and objective this year; to go for that Championship. I feel that like where I am at this year, I should have been at last year – fighting for the championship with Ryan. But getting back to what you said, it’s probably a little early for people to be saying that; this is only the second round.



I have to ask this last question or I wouldn’t be doing my job. There’s been a lot of speculation about where you will be next year – what can you say?



Well, I would like to move to the 450 bike; definitely within the next year. I’ve now got to weigh out all the opportunities and make a good decision. As of yet, I can say that I definitely have not signed anything; I’ve got a lot to concentrate on this summer. Hopefully good things will happen; I just have to keep putting the work in.

http://www.amamotocross.com/article....=1003&aid=9790