Second successive podium for Townley after Red Bud MX National‏

New Zealand’s  Ben
Townley has claimed his second successive podium of the season as the
Lucas
Oil Pro Motocross championship has hit the halfway point for round 6 of
the
12 round series.   The Lucas Oil – Troy Lee Designs –
Honda racer narrowly missed out on his first moto win at the Red Bud
National however another solid score of 4-3 has shifted the Kiwi to
fourth
in the championship standings.

With probably his strongest
qualifying time of the season Townley had fourth pick of the gate going
into the first moto and grabbed a good start as he quickly passed Andrew
Short to take the lead.  With series leader, Ryan Dungey, and reigning
outdoor champion, Chad Reed joining the action, Townley pushed hard to
try
and gap his pursuers.  Dungey challenged ‘BT ‘several
times for the lead however every time he made  a pass,  BT would
counter attack and regain the lead.  With one lap to go Townley made a
vital mistake and went down costing him what should have been his first
moto win of the season.

With the same four riders once
again challenging for the win, moto 2 saw fellow Honda racer, Andrew
Short
out front with Dungey, Townley and Reed in hot pursuit.  Dungey made
his way past Short with ‘BT’ following suit so as not to lose
tow with the American.   With 6 laps gone Townley made a mistake
which enabled Reed to move closer enabling the Australian to then make
his
move to take over second place from the Kiwi.  Townley regained his
rhythm and tried to challenge Reed but had to settle for 3^rd
spot at the checkered flag.

“Red Bud is such a great
track to ride on and it makes racing here so much fun.   I
thought I had the first moto in the bag but got cross rutted and went
down.    I had a great race with Ryan and we traded
positions quite a few times which was good for my confidence.  
In the second moto I made a mistake while chasing Ryan and that took
away
my momentum and allowed Chad to get me.   We got 2 good starts
this weekend and it will not be long before we can fit all the pieces of
the puzzle together.” explained a determined Townley.

The calendar takes a week break
before round 7 takes place in Millville, Minnesota on the 17^th
July .

www.bentownleymx.com

Race results:Round 6 of
12

450 Class (Moto Finish)

1. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine,
   Minn.,
   Suzuki (1-1)


2. Chad Reed, Australia, Kawasaki
   (2-2)


3. Ben Townley, New
   Zealand, Honda (4-3)


4. Andrew Short, Smithville,
   Texas,
   Honda (3-5)


5. Brett Metcalfe, Australia,
   Honda
   (5-4)


6. Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif.,
   Yamaha (6-6)


7. Kyle Regal, Kemp, Texas, Honda
   (7-7)


8. Ryan Sipes, Flaherty, Texas,
   Yamaha (8-8)


9. Mike Alessi, Victorville,
   Calif.,
   KTM (10-9)


10. Nick Wey, Dewitt, Mich.,
    Kawasaki
    (9-12)

450 Class Championship
Standings

1. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine,
   Minn.,
   Suzuki, 268


2. Chad Reed, Australia, Kawasaki,
   204


3. Brett Metcalfe, Australia,
   Honda,
   201


4. Ben Townley, New
   Zealand, Honda, 189


5. Andrew Short, Smithville,
   Texas,
   Honda, 189


6. Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif.,
   Yamaha, 182


7. Mike Alessi, Victorville,
   Calif.,
   KTM, 177


8. Kyle Regal, Kemp, Texas, Honda,
   122


9. Ryan Sipes, Flaherty, Texas,
   Yamaha, 114


10. Kyle Chisholm, Valrico, Fla.,
    Yamaha, 108