15 Facts About Ben Townley

Ben Townley was born on 12 December 1984 and is a former professional motocross and supercross racer originating from Taupo, New Zealand.

Ben Townley competed in the Motocross World Championships from 2001 to 2005 and in the AMA Motocross Championships from 2006 to 2013.

Ben Townley rode for the German PHASE Suzuki team in 2001, but after internal troubles, left the team towards the end of the season and joined the Vangani Racing team.

Ben Townley started the 2002 off with a second place at the GP of Valkenswaard, and after a few more podium finishes, he scored his first GP victory at the GP of Sweden at Uddevalla.

Ben Townley continued his good form at the Champ KTM team in 2003, and made his mark as a definite world championship contender.

In 2004, riding the prototype KTM 250-SXF four stroke, Ben Townley won the MX2 World Championship over teammates future champ Antonio Cairoli and teammates Tyla Rattray and Marc DeReuver.

Ben Townley had reached a new level of speed and endurance, winning nearly every race when his prototype machine did not fail.

Ben Townley won several GPs in the premier division in that rookie season, and was a consistent threat for the win by the end of the year.

Ben Townley finished third behind champion Stefan Everts and fellow New Zealander Josh Coppins.

Ben Townley was superb, running faster than Kevin Windham, Mickael Pichon and Stefan Everts, and was only defeated by American champion Ricky Carmichael, who is widely considered the fastest rider in the world.

In 2006 Ben Townley suffered a severe knee injury while preparing for the Supercross Lites East championship and subsequently sat out the majority of the 2006 season.

Ben Townley returned to the Supercross championship in 2007 and won the 2007 Supercross Lites East championship over rookie Ryan Dungey and Ryan Morias.

Ben Townley has since earned a reputation as a rider who is prone to injury and eventually announced his retirement from professional motocross competition in early 2013.

In 2018 Ben Townley again came out of retirement to race the SX Open at Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland.

Ben Townley did the practice session and raced the ANZAC Vs Abroad race but never raced The heats or main event.