    |
 |
|
|
|
Belgian GP takes its toll on Townley.
KTM factory rider, Ben Townley, has had a disappointing weekend that has been marred by bad starts and bad luck. Scattered showers made the spectacular Nismes circuit all the more technical nevertheless organisers did all in their power to keep the track in the best possible race condition.
Townley had a lot of work to do as he was not placed well going into the first turn of race one. He did emerge a lap later in the top ten and was moving through the pack. After making his move on the Belgians, Ramon and Smets, Townley was up to fifth and had his sights set on a podium spot. BT made a small mistake which would cost him dearly however he managed to pick up his machine and rejoin the race, still in the top ten. Again he gave chase and upped his lap times towards the end of the race to finish seventh – a position that was certainly not a true reflection of his speed.
The second heat would prove to be an even tougher battle for BT. Once again a mediocre start could would leave the Kiwi with loads of work to do. With two laps gone, the worst was feared when Townley pointed to his rear brake pedal as he passed the pit lane. BT had lost the brake pedal as he tussled through the pack and with a constant drizzle coming down the circuit became an ice-rink. With no rear brake, Townley went down at least three times during the course of the race. Rather than give up, he soldiered on and still managed to salvage thirteenth position.
“I don’t know where to begin” said the twenty-year-old with his head in hands. “It has been a really tough weekend. I practiced my starts in the week and they were spot on. Today I had two bad starts which left me with plenty of work to do – I don’t know what I was doing wrong. It was really difficult riding without a rear brake in the second moto and I went down three times in the process. When I have a bad day it really goes wrong - this is definitely something I have to work on. We have the Czech GP next weekend and I like the track. I’m going to focus on getting back to where I should be,” vowed Townley.
