It doesn’t feel that long ago that a young New Zealand kid arrived in Europe battling to fight for a place in the toughest motocross series in the World. Back at the start of this century, well around 2000, Ben Townley turned up in Europe, a young Kiwi with a dream to be a World champion.

I remember this friendly little Kiwi kid would often come into the media room, checking out photos the photographers had taken and as he looked over your shoulder, asking if he could have a particular photo. Most of the media grew friendly with Townley and enjoyed his company as he got older was always fun to be around.

It was pretty obvious after a year or two, that this kid was special, and as he worked his way through the grade, on the Grand Prix scene, with huge help from South African Tinus Nel, his results improved.

Scoring six points at the Belgian GP in 2001, he was a little forgotten as another young Australasian had also arrived in Europe, an Australian called Chad Reed. Reed would rip through the 250 class, winning a GP and finishing second in the World, as this young New Zealander worked hard and slowly made progress.

That six points in Belgium, saw Townley finish 33rd in the World and it was a year later in 2002, that that number 33 became pretty popular and very successful. The 2002 season was a very good one for Townley, as he scored a handful of podium finishes, and his first GP win in Sweden. Final placing in the MX2 World championships was sixth and a huge mark-up from his previous season.

Possibly only a somewhat unreliable KTM probably cost him a top three in the World. A year later and injury this time took away a bag full of points and he claimed 11th in the World and despite top three results in Holland and Germany, his season wasn’t what he had hoped. No worries mate, having signed to race for the KTM factory team and being considered a contender, the young Townley made the move to the very top of the World in 2004, winning the MX2 World championship and becoming one of the hottest commodities in the sport.

2005 saw Townley move up to the MX1-GP class aboard a 450cc KTM. Townley won a handful of GPs in the premier division in that rookie season and was a consistent threat for the win by the end of the year. He finished third behind champion Stefan Everts and fellow New Zealander Josh Coppins.

Townley and Coppins represented their country at the 2005 Motocross des Nations in Ernée, France. It was there that Townley first faced the premier American riders who typically contend only their National championships. Townley was superb, running faster than Kevin Windham, Mickael Pichon and Stefan Everts, and was only defeated by American champion Ricky Carmichael, who is widely considered the fastest rider in the world.

After that, Townley moved to the United States and settled near Carmichael's home in Tallahassee, Florida. He was a member of the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit team and raced a Kawasaki KX250F in the Motocross/Supercross Lites class. In 2006 Townley suffered a severe knee injury while preparing for the Supercross Lites East championship and subsequently sat out the majority of the 2006 season.

Townley returned to the Supercross championship in 2007 and won the 2007 Supercross Lites East championship over rookie Ryan Dungey and Ryan Morias. Ben Townley and teammate Ryan Villopoto kept the points race close during the 2007 Motocross series with Townley finishing a close second to his teammate.

In 2008, Townley signed with Team Honda Red Bull Racing to contest the 2008 Supercross/Motocross season riding the Honda CR250F for the Supercross series and the CR450F for the Motocross series. Due to breaking his foot while training for the 2008 Monster Energy AMA East Coast Supercross Lites series Ben was not able to compete.

Townley had earned a reputation as a rider who is prone to injury and eventually announced his retirement from professional motocross competition in early 2013. However, in 2015, he agreed to come out of retirement to represent New Zealand in the 2015 Motocross des Nations in Ernée, France where he finished 6th and 2nd in his respective races. Again, showing what an amazing talent he was.

For me personally (the writer of this story), had Townley stayed in Europe, he would have won multiple World motocross championships and ended his career one of the all-time legends of the sport. Still respected in the paddock though, the memories he left us in Europe, for the short time he was here, were pretty impressive.

Levi Townley – Townley Part II

Making his debut on European soil at the 2024 Junior Motocross World Championship in Heerde, The Netherlands, Yamaha’s Levi Townley made history as the first bLU cRU YZ Cup rider to win a Junior Motocross World Title. The 14-year-old New Zealander secured the 85cc title aboard his YZ85 after an emphatic race win and a hard-fought third-place finish in damp and challenging conditions.

Revelling in the deep Dutch sand at the tight and technical Kamperweg Heerde circuit, Townley highlighted his talent with two contrasting but equally impressive performances.

In Race One, Townley got off to a dynamite start, emerging from turn one in second position, hot on the heels of Austrian Moritz Ernecker. Drawing on the race craft instilled by his father, former MX2 World Champion Ben Townley, the young rider executed flawlessly. He capitalized on an error by Ernecker on lap five and proceeded to dominate, eventually finishing the race with a commanding 4.5-second lead over Frenchman Sleny Goyer.

In Race Two, Townley again used his race smarts and incredible technique as he charged through the field after a mid-pack start. The Yamaha star pushed as far up the ranks as second position before a small mistake, and a tip-over on the final lap cost him the position. Nevertheless, the gritty #26 made a quick remount and powered his YZ85 home in third place, which was enough to clinch the overall championship.

Townley's historic victory not only marks him as the first New Zealander to claim a Junior Motocross World Title but also ends Yamaha's lengthy title wait in the 85cc class, reaffirming the resurgence of the YZ85.

As the first-ever bLU cRU rider to win a Junior Motocross World Title, and with his younger brother Jaggar also showing huge promise and potential on track, the future looks bright.

From The Netherlands, the Townley’s will embark on a 30-hour journey back to New Zealand. However, the talented family is set to return to Europe for the 2024 YZ85 bLU cRU FIM Europe Cup SuperFinale, which will take place at the prestigious Monster Energy Motocross of Nations in Matterley Basin, Winchester, England, October 4-6.

Ben Townley Story Geoff Meyer - Levi Townley story Yamaha

Images Lead image Geoff Meyer, podium image Ray Archer Levi Townley image, Yamaha