Ben Townley fights in Southwick's sand.

Edited copy courtesy of Glen Dempsey of Synergy-Sport.

Lucas Oil – Troy Lee Designs - Honda racer, Ben Townley , kick started the event as the man to beat as he posted the fastest qualifying times in both morning timed sessions.

Rolling onto the start line for moto 1, Townley was determined to get his first moto win under his belt. As the gate dropped, ‘BT' grabbed a good jump and hung tight in the first turn, narrowly missing out on the hole-shot from fellow Honda racer, Brett Metcalfe. Townley was all over the back of Metcalfe in the opening lap and anxious to make a pass on the Australian. On a fast downhill section, Townley tried to run up the inside of Metcalfe but touched his back wheel coming into the turn and went down. He quickly remounted but collided with Andrew Short minutes later and had to re-start again from the back of the pack. Townley put his head down and clawed his way through the field. With 5 minutes remaining he rocketed into 7th spot and was gaining on Chisholm and Regal when a technical problem forced the Kiwi to the sidelines.

Eager to make up for the disastrous outcome of the first moto, Townley once again grabbed a solid start and this time he quickly made his way to the front of the pack. With newly crowned champion Ryan Dungey hot on his heels, Townley settled into a race rhythm and tried to gap Dungey but could not shake off the American. Dungey made his move on lap 6 while Townley latched on trying to keep up the pressure. The two riders left the rest of the field behind however Dungey would also shake Townley to take a convincing win with Townley coming home in a well deserved second place.

"I had a shot of winning that first moto and blew it” stated Townley " I was the fastest guy out there today but was just too eager and paid the price for it. I put my heart into fighting back after Short hit me and then we had a problem with the water pump which shattered any chances of an overall podium but that's racing I guess. Ryan was really strong in the second moto and I didn't have an answer for him which is frustrating but I also have to be realistic and focus on improving my strength .”

Townley occupies 5th in the points standings and will head to Steel City.