BT wins again

**raglanash** · 12th June 2007, 08:51

He was not impressed with the flattening out of the track, took a bit of advantage away from him, if it had have been rough in the first race i bet he would have won that too. What's up with that? I thought this was motocross.. transworldmotocross.com have some good pics.

**denill** · 12th June 2007, 09:03

Another Southwick pic

**FlangMasterJ** · 12th June 2007, 10:24

Southwick pics are up

http://stevebruhn.com/News07/MX03/index.htm

**clmintie** · 14th June 2007, 22:58

News item from todays Herald. At least they're trying.......

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/4/...ectid=10445585

**paturoa** · 15th June 2007, 20:38

ah this is more like it - regular racing

Budds Creek this weekend in Mechanicsville, MD (where ever that is) I'm off to Google Earth it now.

Edit: Maryland

Edit 2: type in "budds creek road, Mechanicsville" into Google Earth. Neat looking track with dirt track oval and drag strip just down the road - nice

**Danger** · 17th June 2007, 10:56

There are definitely a lot of great Motocross Lites riders racing now, but of them all I could easily see Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Ben Townley taking over the role left by the retiring Ricky Carmichael. With a World Motocross Championship and now AMA Supercross Lites Championship, Townley is on a roll with two AMA Motocross Lites wins this season. Second in championship points to teammate Ryan Villopoto, BT is the talk of the annual Motocross “Silly Season”. Where will he go for 2008? I ask the question, but Ben plays it safe.

Ben, talk about your season so far.

It’s been good actually Jim; it probably started off even better than I thought I’ve won two nationals so far, and I’m right there in terms of speed. I didn’t really know where I would be at having not raced the nationals over here yet. But it’s good start; its three rounds down so far and I’m ready to keep going.

Based on your success at these first three rounds; what would you say that your strength is?

Physically I’m in good shape; that really helps me out at the end of the motos – mentally as well. Also I really have a great team behind me with Pro Circuit - so those are the three things that stand out right away.

Has there been anything from these first races where you went back home and thought “I need to work on this”?

No, I’m just doing what I’ve always done – and not changing anything. During the week I just try to focus a little on a few things, and not try to reinvent the wheel. I believe you should do what you always do – and do what works.

You haven’t raced at many of these tracks; are they what you expected?

Well they are, and they aren’t. Hangtown was a lot better than what I expected, High Point was about what I thought that it would be, and Southwick was different than what I thought it would be - so it’s been a bit of both. At the end of the day, we all ride the same track; and by the end of the weekend I kind of have them figured out.

With you and Ryan (Villopoto) battling it out front, has this created any tension in the Pro Circuit semi?

No, as of now it’s hasn’t, and I don’t expect that it will change at all. We both know that we are going to be in it until the end of the season. He’s a great competitor, and I like racing with him. He’s a young kid and he has his head screwed on right. If we don’t try any stupid moves, it’s going to be fineJ

One final question that I have to ask you: have you signed for 2008 yet?

Well Jim, since the last time that I spoke with you (High Point) I have not gone any further with things. It’s like I said before, I want to do it right; there’s a lot of changes in the motorcycle racing world right now with Ricky retiring, and people looking at doing supercross only deals; so there is a lot going on. There’s not a lot more to say; I’ll probably have something done soon, but as of right now my priority is racing – and going for this championship!

http://www.amamotocross.com/article....7a4e0cc4c3a558

**paturoa** · 17th June 2007, 11:28

Saturday practice BT 5th fastest

1 1 02:00.521 Practice 4 Ryan D Villopoto Poulsbo, WA Kawasaki KX250F
2 338 02:01.121 Practice 2 Jason D Lawrence Carlsbad, CA Yamaha YZ250F
3 24 02:01.503 Practice 2 Joshua M Grant Riverside, CA Honda CRF250R
4 62 02:01.990 Practice 4 Ryan M Dungey Belle Plaine, MN Suzuki RM-Z250
5 101 02:02.015 Practice 4 Ben Townley Tallahassee, FL Kawasaki KX250F

**Danger** · 17th June 2007, 11:30

Ben Townley can add his name to the list of Southwick first-timers that left saying it wasn’t what he expected, but not many people can say they won it the first time! Townley went 2-1 for the overall, trading moto wins with his teammate Ryan Villopoto.
Townley capitalized on a mistake Villopoto made in moto 2 that handed him the lead, and he won the second moto without a challenge after his pass.
He’s won every second moto so far, which means his fitness is excellent and he’s a candidate to be there until this series comes down to the wire. Here’s what he had to say about his first time at Southwick.

Racer X: Ben, what are you doing on these second motos? Are you like the ironman or something?
Ben Townley: No, just working with Aldon is paying dividends now. I am very fortunate to be able to work with him. About midway through 2005, I think, when I made my deal with Pro Circuit, I talked to Mitch about living on the East coast and he was cool with that. I thought I would give Aldon a call and see if there was an opportunity. It’s all history now. It’s really paying off. I am super-pumped on the way I am physically. I have a great team. It’s all working good. I just have one short redhead that seems to be able to all the same things! It seems we are both going at the same level.

Townley is eight points behind Villopoto in the championship
As far races today, how did the first moto go?
In the first lap, he [Ryan Villopoto] just got away. I was third behind Davalos. I got Davalos and he got me right back. It took me until the finish line to get him so for a whole lap I was in third. He pulled a gap and then we just stayed the same. I expected to just catch him and it didn’t happen. Midway through the race, I really dug deep and tried to catch him and hoped he made a mistake, but you have to give it up for him, he rode bloody well.

What did you expect out of this race? Was it the track you thought it would be?
It is like a supercross track in that it looks huge on TV. The turns look wide and everything looks fun and mellow. You get out there and everything is squashed together. It’s just really confined.
With this track, I expected it to be sandy and whooped out and it was, but in those whooped out sections there was a hard base to it. Everytime you go into it you don’t you know if you are going to actually stay there. The sand I have ridden before, you knew what you had. This was a tricky track.
Everyone makes a big deal about me not riding many of these tracks and I don’t think there are any issues there, but this one was definitely the hardest one so far.

Did you struggle with the track in practice?
No, that was more with bike setup. We hadn’t ridden anything like this as far as sand. As amateur kids come up, they are so good at riding tracks that are flat out, they can get out there and go balls to the wall. It’s tough for me to go out and ride like that in those first practices. Once it gets some lines and it gets rough it's more like a realistic moto situation, I can find my speed.

Doesn’t the team have all this experience and information about Southwick and do you find yourself inundated with advice?
No, that’s what good about working with Mitch. He knows I have good experience, and I do still rely on him and we work together. They don’t tell me what to do and I don’t tell them what to do either. That’s why the relationship is so good. I have a lot of respect for Bones and he has a lot of respect for me. It seems to be working well. I don’t want to change anything. It is a great team to be on.

With yourself and Ryan so close, do they sit you two down and say “Okay, race but don’t bump into each other or stuff like that?”
No, the only thing that Mitch ever said was race hard but race clean. That is my philosophy as well with Ryan. We are both out there trying to win a championship and we both respect each other. When he went down (moto 2) I could have just run over his legs but I didn’t want to do that hurt someone in the process. I am sure if it were the other way around, he would have done the same thing. He is clean and isn’t going to put anyone over the banners at all.

Are you taking notes for the Motocross of Nations when you race Budds next weekend?
[Laughs] The Motocross of Nations is a great race. I’m sure you guys think the same. The atmosphere is not like any other place. I am looking forward to it. As far as next week, it is just another race and I have to prepare and make sure I am ready to go.

After three rounds, are you where you expected to be?
Yes. I had bigger expectations for this track. In the others, I was further ahead than what I thought. The supercross season took so long to finish. I still raced Vegas so I didn’t really get much outdoor time. I set a goal of making sure I was up there for those first three rounds and to come away winning two of them is great. Obviously the only asterisk to the whole thing was that first moto at Mt. Morris.

http://www.racerxill.com/articles/de...n-townley.aspx

**Danger** · 17th June 2007, 11:32

t’s hard to say who’s the fastest man on the planet now on a 250F. If it’s the first moto of an AMA Motocross National, it’s Ryan Villopoto. If it’s the second moto, it’s Ben Townley. If it’s in Europe right now, it’s Tony Cairoli. But then again, all three of these guys hustle in both motos, but the breaks have worked out—in either motos or contracts—that we won’t know until September 23 and the 2007 Motocross des Nations at Budds Creek.

Townley has won every second moto thus far in 2007

photo: Steve Bruhn
I have not seen Cairoli race this year, but a couple of co-workers who have say he is stunning. But I have seen Villopoto and Townley, and they are both extraordinarily fast and in shape. Villopoto, the defending AMA Toyota Motocross Lites Champion, gets going in a hurry every time out. If not for a spill in the second moto yesterday while leading, it would have been tough for Townley to catch him. Even though he has yet to win a race, he’s still the points leader after three rounds, and as we saw at Budds Creek last year, he flat-out flies there.

Townley has been more patient, maybe because he’s three years older than his Monster Energy/Pro Circuit teammate and still finding his way in America. His second-moto prowess is obvious: He’s 3-for-3 in 2007, and that’s why he’s got two overall wins to none for RV1. However, he knows he can’t let Villopoto get on a roll, because if he does—as he did last year—he’s tough to stop.

As for Cairoli, Racer X’s European contributors are split: Geoff Meyer says the Italian is the best on the planet right now; Matt Allard told us at High Point that it’s Townley. Too bad that Tony isn’t coming to Budds Creek this coming weekend as many hoped in order to check out the MXdN track, because America’s best vs. New Zealand’s best vs. Italy’s best would be something to behold! It would also answer the question as to who is the fastest right now.

http://www.racerxill.com/articles/de...southwick.aspx