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It was unsure if Ben Townley would make the starting line for round 5 of the AMA Toyota Motocross championship in Buchanen, Michigan this weekend. The 22-year-old New Zealander was hospitalized after complaining of nausea and further stomach cramps which may have been an allergic reaction to the anti-nausea medication administered by medical staff at the Red Bud circuit. ‘BT’ was later released from hospital around midnight on Saturday and given the green light to race after thorough medical examinations had ruled out suspected appendicitis or any other medical illness.
Townley put a sleepless night behind him and focused on putting together two strong and consistent results in front of over 29.000 enthusiastic spectators that had turned out under magnificent weather and track conditions.. Townley trailed fellow Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/ Kawasaki team-mate, Ryan Villopoto, in the first MX Lites moto but tried to turn the tables in the second moto. ‘BT’ grabbed the RACER-X hole-shot award and lead for the first half of the 30 minute race with Villopoto right on his back wheel. The crowd loved every moment of the duel between the two Kawasaki’s. Villopoto finally found his was past and managed to pull a small gap over Townley to take the win, with BT settling for second.
“Saturday was a tough ordeal but I don’t really think it had any effect on today’s racing” commented Townley. “I got two good starts and was second behind Ryan in the first moto but he managed to gap me again. I tried to close him down towards the end but it was too little too late. I was happier with moto 2. We had an awesome race and I felt really good on the Red Bud track - it was so much fun and I haven’t raced on circuit like that in a long time. I even started doing “Larocco’s Leap” in the second moto which is just wide open on a 250F.”
Townley holds a 20 point deficit over team-mate Villopoto but will be looking to bridge that gap in two weeks time when riders and race teams will head to the infamous Unadilla circuit in New Berlin, NY for round 6 of the 12 round series.
