Townley Wins In France

| June 28, 2005

In front of around 30,000 spectators and under extremely hot temperatures, KTM factory rider Ben Townley won his second consecutive Motocross Grand Prix with a perfect 1-1 tally in the Grand Prix of France on Sunday.

“I am happy that I can improve and win in this class,” Townley said. “It is nice racing with the top guys and if I can win it’s great. I need to fight to get second from Josh [Coppins] in the championship. I used a Camelback so I could drink during the race, my throat was so dry in the first, but much better in the secon one due to the Camelback. I am just taking race by race and if I can keep riding the way I am I can really make big improvements. I can’t see why I can’t fight for second in the championship. The layout was great, we had a lot of rain, but the circuit proved to be good there was a lot of lines and we could not have asked for better racing.”

Second place went to another New Zealander, Josh Coppins. The CAS Honda rider really looked strong as he holeshot both MX1 motos and kept his lines clean. One of the most consistent of the MX1 riders, Coppins is yet to lose major points in a GP this year and remains focused on catching Stefan Everts in the series standings.

Third-placed Mickael Pichon rode with great courage. The former World Motocross Champion continued to show why he is such a great hero in Europe as he pushed to two consistent results.

David Philippaerts came back from illness on the Saturday to win the MX2 class in France. The KTM rider is quickly becoming one of the bright lights of the Grand Prix scene, and must have come close to securing a major deal for the 2006 season with his win.

Another KTM rider, Carl Nunn, finished second in the MX2, with 19-year-old French rider Anthony Boissiere giving the large crowd something to cheer about, finishing in third place in his home Grand Prix.

MX1 moto one: 1. Ben Townley (KTM); 2. Stefan Everts (Yam); 3. Josh Coppins (Hon); 4. Mickael Pichon (Hon); 5. Steve Ramon (KTM); 6. Joel Smets (Suz); 7. Antoine Meo (Husky); 8. Pascal Leuret (Hon); 9. Kornel Nemeth (Suz); 10. Jonathan Barragan (KTM); 11. Manuel Priem (Yam); 12. Jussi Vehvilainen (on); 13. Yoshi Atsuta (Suz); 14. Antti Pyrhonen (TM); 15. Tanel Leok (Kaw).

MX1 moto two: 1. Ben Townley (KTM); 2. Josh Coppins (Hon); 3. Mickael Pichon (Hon); 4. Jonathan Barragon (KTM); 5. Pascal Leuret (Hon); 6. Yoshi Atsuta (Suz); 7. Stefan Everts (Yam); 8. Steve Ramon (KTM); 9. Marvin Van Daele (Hon); 10. Danny Theybers (Suz); 11. Kornel Nemeth (Suz); 12. Manuel Priem (Yam); 13. Jussi Vehvilainen(Hon); 14. Antti Pryhonen (TM); 15. Brian Jorgensen (Yam).

World MX1 championship points: 1. Stefan Everts (375/5wins); 2. Josh Coppins (316); 3. Ben Townley (304/3); 4. Mickael Pichon (299/1); 5. Joel Smets (296); 6. Steve Ramon (232); 7. Brian Jorgensen (163); 8. James Noble (160); 9. Pascal Leuret (159); 10. Ken De Dijcker (148); 11. Danny Theybers (141); 12. Jonathan Barragan (135); 13. Tanel Leok (132); 14. Marvin Van Daele (131); 15. Antti Pyrhonen (128).

MX2 moto one: 1. David Philippaerts (KM); 2. Alessio Chiodi (Yam); 3. Andrew McFarlane (Yam); 4. Anthony Boissiere (Yam); 5. Carl Nunn (KTM); 6. Max Nagl (KTM); 7. Billy Mackenzie (Yam); 8. Rui Goncalves (Yam); 9. Nicolas Aubin (Yam); 10. Christophe Pourcel (Kaw); 11. Aigar Leok (KTM); 12. Matteo Bonini (Hon); 13. Pierre Renet (Yam); 14. Shaun Simpson (Hon); 15. Manuel Monni (KTM).

MX2 moto two: 1. Anthony Boissiere (Yam); 2. Carl Nunn (KTM); 3. David Philippaerts (KTM); 4. Andrew McFarlane (Yam); 5. Cedric Melotte (Yam); 6. Rui Goncalves (Yam); 7. Alessio Chiodi (Yam); 8. Wyatt Avis (Hon); 9. Billy Mackenzie (Yam); 10. Matteo Bonini (Hon); 11. Max Nagl (KTM); 12. Mickael Maschio (Yam); 13. Erik Eggens (Hon); 14. Jason Dougan (Suz); 15. Christophe Pourcel (Kaw).

World MX2 championship points: 1. Andrew McFarlane (301/3wins); 2. Alessio Chiodi (295/1); 3. Antonio Cairoli (270/2); 4. Stephen Sword (262); 5. Cedric Melotte (237); 6. David Philiappaerts (218/1); 7. Billy Mackenzie (188/1); 8. Mickael Maschio (169); 9. Carl Nunn (166); 10. Rui Goncalves (165); 11. Patrick Caps (153); 12. Davide Guarneri (148); 13. Christophe Pourcel (142); 14. Anthony Boissiere (125); 15. Matteo Bonini (108).

By Freelance