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Taupo’s Ben Townley, racing for Vangani Racing Motocross Team, which he has only recently joined, scored an excellent fifth-place overall in only his second outing in the challenging Dutch Motocross Championship series at Markelo on 7 October 2001.
Townley’s first outing in Dutch Championship had been less that auspicious, so he was determined to put in a better performance in this round and did so in style.
After qualifying in eleventh position, Townley was quietly confident that he could achieve his goal of a top-10 finish. It almost went up in smoke at the start of the first heat, when the 16-year-old crashed on the first lap, leaving himself with a lot of work to do. However he show real class while carving through the field to tenth position by the time the flag fell.
In the second heat the young Kiwi got one of his characteristic good starts, and never looked back from there. By the end of the first lap he was in sixth position, he then passed Belgian Kristof Salaets to move into the fifth spot. For a major part of the race, it looked as if Townley would remain in fifth position. But in the last few laps he made huge inroads into the lead held by fourth-placed George Strik, and in the moment of the day, Townley jumped past Strik on the finish line to grab fourth .
The only riders who got the better of Townley in this race were Grand Prix stars Kenneth Gundersen, Marc De Reuver and Kevin Strijbos. The youngster was elated, he could now put the nightmare of the previous Dutch Championship event behind him.
The result has also vaulted Townley to 19th position in the Dutch championship, with one round left to go.
