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Vicki Townley has sent us this update on Ben\'s progress as he moves toward the business end of 2004.
Visit Ben @ his BenTownleyMX.Com: website.
It features his latest news, pictures, profile etc. and while you are there, leave a message for the young Kiwi in his `Guestbook`.
Kia Ora Bill..........
Thought I would bring you up to speed with Ben\'s return to Europe. He departed NZ Jan 21, touched down in Belgium for a day or so then off to Malaga, in the south of Spain where his team, Champ were doing final testing before their race bikes are assembled for the 2004 season.
Ben returned to Belgium over the weekend of Feb 1st and was joined by his dad, Grant on February 5th. Ben picked Grant up at the airport in Brussels at 7pm in the evening and headed off to Switzerland in a camper van ... after a 6 hour drive they pulled over for the night and had some well needed sleep. Early the next morning they set off on the remainder of their journey... to central Italy. They meet up with Josh there to spend the next few weeks getting bike speed and fitness underway. They have been down in an area just north of Rome riding for the last few days.
Amid all of this Ben flew from Rome to Austria for another session at the Red Bull fitness centre to complete assessments that they started back in November. His comments via txt messages were - \"the amount of snow is unbelievable mum\" ...(this is in Austria) He returned to Italy to resume training and they have traveled back up to where Josh is wintering it out.
They will be in Italy for another 10 days or so before they begin their journey home via the south of France to attend an international race in Valence. Back to Belgium for another race the following weekend.... then into the first round of the Dutch Championship, March 7th....this leaves them one weekend off before the GP\'s \'light up\' again.
Grant (Ben\'s dad) is spannering and helping Ben while his mechanic Craig Behl is in the KTM factory, Austria, building Ben\'s race bikes for 2004.
That\'s about it in a nutshell...not earth shattering news...but filling the gap while BT is away from internet access ....
PS. Only maintaining txt messages to Italy...cost $7.55 per minute on a mobile global roaming phone !!!!! we\'ll have a lot of catching up to do when they are back home on a landline in Belgium
Cheers
Yours in MX
Vicki T.
