-In 2004 you grabbed the MX2 world title. How was it (being from New Zealand) to live and ride in Europe and doing the GP's? It was great, being such a long way from home is always hard, I love my home town so much, so being away from it is hard. Obviously being able to live my dream and do what I love is awesome and I get to see so many places traveling the world. I learned to love Europe, I didn't know much about it until I arrived, but with all the different cultures and countries is nice.
-Was your goal to go ride in the USA from the beginning? Yea it's always been my dream to race here, but I couldn't get here with support to begin my career, so and when I got the opportunity to race in Europe, I took it. I didn't intend on staying as long as I did, but it turned out really good and I have no regrets at all.
-You just turned 21, congratulations. You're allowed in the pubs now, how does that feel? Ha ha, well its good, although I liked being 18, in NZ you're allowed to drink and do most things already then, but you don't have the responsibilities of a 21 year old, I guess I'm still a kid really!
-You've got the same trainer (drill instructor) as Ricky Carmichael, when is the last time you ate at McDonald's? Can't remember, I think I had KFC after the Irish GP, Tyla and I were hungry after the race so we stopped in for a greasy feed ! That's the last time, oh and I had some birthday cake the other night.
-How much does it take to be on top as a MX rider?
It's dedication, determination and motivation. Those three words make up a lot of it, and there is no limit to those words, you can be as good as you make yourself to be, no one else can do it for you.
-When you were living in Belgium you also rode some BMX. What's your history there? Well I always rode BMX since I was little, my home town has a pretty decent track and I spent a lot of days there with my shovel and mates reforming the jumps. I generally didn't ride a BMX bike from about 12 years on, just my mountain bike, I like the suspension on the landings more! Free riding is fun, just doing jumps and testing the limits, its always fun to try a big gap for the first time and have that rush that you did it. I love free riding on a trials bike toó, and MX bike, it gets crazy when you're on a 450!
-What MX-ers do you know that ride BMX? When I was in Belgium a few of us did it, Strijbos, Manuel Priem, Ken de Dijcker, Marvin van Daele, Joel Smets, Josh Coppins. Kevin Strijbos is really good, he is really fast and jumps everything so good.
-Does riding a SX track feel more like riding BMX to you and the outdoor tracks more like MTB-ing? Yea there is definitely a cross over, it's so intense on a super cross track and I think you get the same intensity riding a BMX track.
-Are there any similarities between MX and BMX?
Definitely, keeping the bike low and corner speed is exactly the same.
Here's a word association thingy to wrap this up:-Pro Circuit Kawasaki 250f: Beast
-Smos (Belgian name for a ham/cheese sandwich): Yuk!
-Florida: Sweet
-Kawasaki test track: Scary (day one) !
-KTM/Champ team: Thanks
-Red Bull: Monster
-Whoops: all-in-the-head
-Outdoor season: Can't wait
-Website: bentownleymx.com
We wish Ben Townley all the best over in the USA. Go get 'em boy!
After doing a BMX 'zine for ten years (1987 - 1996) FATBMX made it on the internet. The year was 1998. Here to stay.