Ben Townley Media Gallery

Ben Townley [101]

Ben Townley's Bio

Townley began racing before most kids could ride a bicycle. It wasn't long before he'd conquered everything the country of New Zealand had to offer. At age 16, when he decided to broaden his horizons, he secured a spot on a European race team, landing championships on three continents along the way.

When Townley joined Honda Red Bull Racing in 2008, it seemed like a dream come true. Unfortunately, Lady Luck had other plans for the then 23-year-old.

"I had just started with Honda and I was doing some testing to get ready for the East Coast Supercross series, said Townley. "I came up a little short on a jump, really hurting my leg. I had pretty extensive surgery on my heel, and the process just entailed a real long rehab. I probably had a good three months off."

With his recovery complete, Townley expected to explode onto the scene as a serious contender in the outdoor Motocross season. Once again, Lady Luck would deal him a difficult hand.

"Right before the start of the Motocross season, and after working so hard to get ready to make a comeback, I had a crash in practice, really hurting my shoulder. I kept preparing and tried to be ready for the opening round, but when I took to the track at Glen Helen, I just felt I wasn't strong enough. In the practice crash right before the opener, I did something to my wrist and I was totally weak on my right side. After the first two rounds we decided I needed some time off the bike to get healthy, and it had turned out that my shoulder injury was quite extensive. I had to have it operated on."