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TOWNLEY SECURES FOURTH CONSECUTIVE PODIUM
03 July 2005 - KTM-Sportmotorcycles AG
Ben Townley was once again a proactive force in the 2005 FIM MX1 World Championship and took moto results of 2-3 to finish second overall today in front of 28,000 spectators (weekend figure) at Uddevalla for the Grand Prix of Sweden.
The New Zealander challenged countryman and eventual double moto winner Josh Coppins in the first race but was unable to overtake the Honda rider despite a close finale that saw the pair separated by 0.4 of a second at the finish line. The second heat was slightly more complicated as a less than ideal start meant that the MX2 World Champion had to pick his way through from a first lap position of twelfth to eventually reach third, quite some distance adrift of Coppins and Joel Smets in second. The track was not easy today and the fast layout was dangerous in sections with the dust and hard stony ground proving to be quite slippery.
Steve Ramon was cursed with yet more mediocre starts and although he showed some good speed to reach fifth in the first moto he was pipped to fourth and an overall podium by Stefan Everts on the last few corners of the second race. The Belgian was unaware of the proximity of the World Champion who was charging after a first corner fall and lost a champagne celebration in a deflating manner having been some five or six seconds ahead of the Yamaha rider only several laps prior. Townley is still third in the title chase and is staring at a twenty point deficit to Coppins while Ramon is slightly further back in sixth. David Philippaerts has also notched four podiums in a row after two third positions meant the same ranking overall in the MX2 class. The motos were dominated by the Yamaha duo of Antonio Cairoli and Andrew McFarlane but the Italian pulled through to third from a opening lap spot of eighth in moto one and was assisted by a small crash from Carl Nunn who had been running behind the Yamahas from the first lap. Nunn remounted and took seventh. The two 250SXF riders fought for third in the second race with Philippaerts shadowing Nunn for the first half before taking charge. Nunn crossed the line in fourth and captured the same standing. The British Championship leader has now flown up the World Championship classification and currently lies seventh behind Philippaerts. The first ever FIM Women’s World Cup was an excellent event for German Stephanie Laier as the nineteen year old guided her 125cc SX to a double moto victory and became the first ever female World Champion. Kenneth Gundersen has made good progress after his second knee operation and is back riding. The Norwegian, who has not ridden a full Grand Prix moto since Germany 2004, will travel to Austria next week and spend a month near the factory undergoing medical examinations and consultations while also testing 2006 KTM machinery and materials. Gundersen is optimistic of a Grand Prix return at Nismes at the end of July. Also set for a comeback at the same meeting is Marc de Reuver, who has been riding for over a month in his native Holland. Sun City in South Africa will entertain the World Championships for the eleventh stop of seventeen in two week’s time. Ben Townley:
“Today wasn’t as great as the last two Grand Prix but the result was still pretty good. I had two consistent rides but my start in the second moto cost me the win because I was riding really well today. I pushed hard from the first lap onwards and I lost a lot of energy to come through in that second moto. I had trouble with the front end at the start of the day but we changed the tyre and a few things and I felt much more comfortable later on. It was a really difficult track and in places I found it very scary. With Josh winning and Katherine taking a podium in the ladies it is an amazing set of results for New Zealand.” Steve Ramon:
“My starts weren’t great again today. I pushed hard on the first lap in the first heat to pass some riders but the leaders had gone once I reached fifth; that was the best I could do. It was more difficult for me in the second moto to find the good lines. I was fourth and it was my own fault that I lost the podium. I did not know that it was Stefan right behind me and I also didn’t look at my pitboard those last two laps so I wasn’t aware that I would lose the top three position. The track was fast and the ground was hard and really slippery because of the watering, hitting a small rock could be dangerous. This circuit is not so special for me because it is too simple.” Carl Nunn:
“I knew I had the pace to get a good result all weekend. I was disappointed with the first race and making that silly mistake but at least I kept the bike running. Seventh place was OK but really now I want top fives every weekend. I thought that the second moto would be better for me and that the other guys would be getting tired. I was in the top three for most of the race and then Philippaerts came past and I thought I would be able to learn some lines from him, which I did and I stuck with him but wasn’t close enough to pass coming up to the last lap. Physically I am feeling really good at the moment and my confidence is right up there which is a totally different situation compared to a few months ago.” David Philippaerts:
“I started far back in both motos but came through OK. I was not happy with my riding in the first race but I was satisfied with the next heat because I was able to come through and take another podium and that result meant a lot to me. Carl was going very fast and looked strong defending the line and I don’t know if he made a small mistake because I was right behind him and there was quite a lot of room to squeeze through. I want to go for my fifth podium in a row in South Africa.” Stephanie Laier:
“The races were not easy today but I think my condition is better than the other girls and I was able to be first. The track was not too bad but after the MX1 and MX2 races the second moto was definitely harder than the first. I was talking a lot with Max Nagl and he helped me. It was great to see all the girls racing out there and I hope next year I can come back and win.” MX1 Moto1 1. Coppins, Joshua Honda 40:13.675
2. Townley, Ben KTM 40:14.111
3. Barragan, Jonathan KTM 40:46.799
4. Everts, Stefan Yamaha 40:57.900
5. Ramon, Steve KTM 41:04.649
6. Leok, Tanel Kawasaki 41:11.943
7. de Dijcker, Ken Honda 41:18.030
8. Noble, James Honda 41:20.139
9. Leuret, Pascal Honda 41:22.137
10. Pyrhonen, Antti TM 41:23.605 MX1 Moto2 1. Coppins, Joshua Honda 40:40.278
2. Smets, Joel Suzuki 40:47.524
3. Townley, Ben KTM 40:50.744
4. Everts, Stefan Yamaha 40:51.590
5. Ramon, Steve KTM 41:00.072
6. Noble, James Honda 41:36.809
7. Leuret, Pascal Honda 41:38.303
8. Theybers, Danny Suzuki 41:39.733
9. Atsuta, Yoshitaka Suzuki 41:40.086
10. Nemeth, Kornel Suzuki 41:51.598 MX1 Overall result 1. Coppins, Joshua NZL 50
2. Townley, Ben NZL 42
3. Everts, Stefan BEL 36
4. Ramon, Steve BEL 32
5. Barragan, Jonathan SPA 30
6. Noble, James GBR 28
7. Leuret, Pascal FRA 26
8. de Dijcker, Ken BEL 23
9. Smets, Joel BEL 22
10. Leok, Tanel EST 22 MX1 World Championship standings 1. Everts, Stefan 411
2. Coppins, Joshua 366
3. Townley, Ben 346
4. Smets, Joel 318
5. Pichon, Mickael 299
6. Ramon, Steve 264
7. Noble, James 188
8. Leuret, Pascal 185
9. de Dijcker, Ken 171
10. Jorgensen, B. 166 MX2 Moto1 1. Cairoli, Antonio Yamaha 41:05.807
2. McFarlane, Andrew Yamaha 41:12.956
3. Philippaerts, David KTM 41:18.504
4. Melotte, Cedric Yamaha 41:23.704
5. Maschio, Mickael Yamaha 41:26.075
6. Guarneri, Davide Yamaha 41:26.862
7. Nunn, Carl KTM 41:34.631
8. Pourcel, Christophe Kawasaki 41:45.650
9. Church, Tom Kawasaki 41:53.773
10. Swanepoel, G Kawasaki 41:55.871 MX2 Moto2 1. Cairoli, Antonio Yamaha 39:08.681
2. McFarlane, Andrew Yamaha 39:11.644
3. Philippaerts, David KTM 39:28.865
4. Nunn, Carl KTM 39:34.004
5. Pourcel, Christophe Kawasaki 39:41.700
6. Chiodi, Alessio Yamaha 39:48.148
7. Nagl, Maximilian KTM 39:52.008
8. Avis, Wyatt Honda 40:00.783
9. Melotte, Cedric Yamaha 40:11.435
10. Goncalves, Rui Yamaha 40:15.236
MX2 Overall result
1. Cairoli, Antonio ITA 50
2. McFarlane, Andrew AUS 44
3. Philippaerts, David ITA 40
4. Nunn, Carl GBR 32
5. Melotte, Cedric BEL 30
6. Pourcel, Christophe FRA 29
7. Avis, Wyatt RSA 22
8. Leok, Aigar EST 20
9. Goncalves, Rui POR 18
10. Church, Tom GBR 18
MX2 World Championship standings
1. McFarlane, A. 345
2. Cairoli, A. 320
3. Chiodi, Alessio 310
4. Melotte, Cedric 267
5. Sword, Stephen 262
6. Philippaerts, D. 258
7. Nunn, Carl 198
8. Mackenzie, B. 188
9. Maschio, M. 185
10. Goncalves, Rui 183
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