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.
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Originally Posted by secondfield
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