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Almost thirty thousand spectators over the weekend witnessed a 1-2 Kiwi podium at the picturesque circuit of Uddevalla in Sweden. Having won his first ever GP in Sweden as a rookie 125cc rider, KTM star Ben Townley was eager to win on Scandinavian soil once however the Kiwi would miss out on his GP hat-trick but would stand proud in second next to fellow friend and racer Josh Coppins.
Townley’s KTM 450 had a great jump in the first heat however the factory machine was pushed wide in the first turn by fellow Kiwi Josh Coppins. Townley and Coppins were both trailing Spaniard, Jonathan Barrgan until he washed out and lost the lead to the New Zealand duo. Townley was having trouble with traction and almost lost his front wheel a few times enabling Coppins to pull a slight gap. Townley did not give up though and as the clock started running out, he made a last minute effort to catch Coppins. The crowd were on their feet as the two Kiwi’s battled it out right to the finish line with Townley not being able to break his older friend and rival – he had to settle for second.
Unfortunately for BT his work would be cut out for him right from the start. He was caught in the middle of the pack and passed the KTM pit tent in twelfth position on the opening lap. From there he moved up the rankings picking off positions lap after lap and by the halfway mark he was into third and chasing, Smets and Coppins. BT tried all he could to make an impression on the time deficit but in the end he had to settle for third and a safe second overall.
“I had two consistent rides but the second start I pretty much blew it and it cost me the win. I was going really good out there and had to push really hard from the first lap onwards and that made me quite tired and I used a lot of energy – I was happy that Josh won. I had some trouble with the front tire in the first race so we made some changes and I think it worked out well. It’s amazing you know, there were three New Zealanders racing here today with Katherine Prumm in the Woman’s cup. New Zealand is such a small country and to have three people on the podium today is really, really amazing,” said a proud Townley.
