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Townley back on the box with victory at the Isle of Wight.
After a spell of unlucky falls and injuries, KTM factory man, Ben Townley, has warded off all challenges to take victory at the 15th round of the MX1 world championships at the Gore Basin circuit on the Isle of Wight. Townley looked awesome the entire weekend and his radiant smile upon arrival on Friday at the circuit was a portent of the result that would follow.
Thousands of air horns sounded as the gate dropped for the first MX1 heat. Townley got entangled in mid pack but cut through the field like a man possessed. The factory KTM rocketed into seventh place on the opening lap and immediately began to pressurize points leader, Stefan Everts. The Belgian held off Townley as long as he could but he was no match for the young, determined challenger. Townley disposed of Everts within two laps and set his sights on fellow Kiwi, Josh Coppins. BT caught and passed his countryman and was in a podium position however the race was far from over. He took the bit between his teeth and started to reel in the leading duo of Steve Ramon and Mikael Pichon. The crowd went mad when Townley closed down the Frenchman on the last lap and with a last minute dash the two went side by side into the final section of circuit. Elbows rubbed however it was Pichon who had the better line with Townley having to settle for third spot and a masterful come back.
BT would once again have to work his magic at the start of the second moto. He trailed Pichon going into the first turn and managed to jump passed a gaggle of riders as he tripled the uphill step jump however he was still out of the top five. Three sections later, BT appeared through the whoops in second spot and within the lap he was into the lead and checking out at a serious pace. The crowd were loving every second of the Kiwi phenomenon and ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ echoed through the Gore Basin as Townley scrubbed and whipped his factory KTM over the obstacles. There was no challenge for the twenty-year-old has he cruised to victory and his fourth GP success of the season!
“It has been a goal of mine recently to go after the last three Grand Prix victories and I have got one so there are two more to go. I am riding good at the moment and we have some good tracks to end the season; I can’t wait. They did a good job with the track today considering that it was over-watered this morning. They got the diggers out and corrected the mistake so I want to congratulate them.
I worked hard on my starts during the week but I guess I have to keep on working! I battled hard with Stefan in the first race, I caught Josh and it was pretty hectic racing out there. In the second moto I made a push for the lead on the first lap and was able to get my times down. Half way through I thought I had over-done it because I was making a few mistakes but I settled and finally took the victory so I am really happy,” explained Townley.
BT heads to the Netherlands for the penultimate round of the MX1 series to be held next weekend at the tough and demanding sand circuit of Lierop.
Race Results: MX1
