Townley Impresses In North

Posted: Fri 08 Mar 2002

Rising young star Ben Townley heads to round one of the Dutch championship this weekend pumped after big success on Sunday.

The New Zealand-born 125 class rider stood on the podium with third place at Lommel in Belgium, mastering the sandy circuit to mix with seasoned professionals.

“I’ve been working on my starts and I managed two holeshots … that really helped,” said the 17-year-old KTM rider who was 33rd in his rookie world champs season last year.

“The Lommel races were tough and I learned plenty watching and following the other guys.

“Now I’ll see if I can do it again in Holland.”

The national events, important to Townley’s Belgian-based South African team Big Five Vangani Racing, also give the riders valuable practice in the sand they’ll strike at round one of the world champs in a fortnight.

The 12-round title series starts on the Dutch circuit of Valkenswaard on 24th.