 ro Circuit has a long history of building great bikes and picking winners. And when Pro Circuit signed up Ben Townley to contest the 2007 AMA Supercross Lites East Championship, they picked another winner and put an exclamation point on their motto “We Race, We Win, You Benefit!”
In the final round of the SX East title chase Townley earned a second-place finish at Ford Field in Detroit. That was good enough to give the New Zealand native the points he needed to move from second to first in the final standings and earned him the 2007 AMA Supercross Lites East Championship. “I’ve got a whole bunch of things in my corner,” said Townley. “Aldon Baker is my trainer, I live in Florida where I’ve got everything I need down there to train and prepare for the races. Obviously having Mitch (Payton) and Pro Circuit is great, they contribute so much. The team and I have worked really hard. It’s like a dream come true to win this championship.”
Townley’s title gave Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki a sweep of both East and West Supercross Lites titles. Ryan Villopoto wrapped up the Lites West Series in February. That means that so far this season Pro Circuit is two-for-two as far as Supercross Lites Championships go. It marked the first American title for Townley, a 22-year-old Supercross rookie who was MX2 World Champion in 2004. “The transition coming from New Zealand to Europe was huge.” said Townley. “Coming from Europe to America was only different more in the ways of riding. The lifestyle here is more like New Zealand, so that is why I wanted to be here in the first place. The specific racing style in Supercross is the biggest difference really. It’s very aggressive. I basically raced in New Zealand till I was sixteen. Then I went overseas to Europe and raced the 125 Class for three years and then the 450 Class for a year. I was 33rd my first year and then I was 6th. Then I had a year out, and the following year I came back to win the World MX Title (MX2). Then I was 3rd in the 250 Class in 2005 before I came to America.”
Ben Townley celebrates his East Lites Supercross Championship with the rest of the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team in Detroit. The Pro Circuit team was also recognized as “Team of the Year” at the Supercross banquet in Vegas this May. Steve Bruhn photo.
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Townley got off to a rocky start this season, finishing 22nd in Atlanta due to a mechanical failure, but he quickly turned things around, taking wins in St. Louis, Daytona and Dallas, finishing second in Indy and Detroit and seventh in Orlando. Steve Bruhn photo. |
Townley completed one of the biggest comebacks in AMA Supercross Lites history this season. His bike suffered a mechanical failure at the first round in Atlanta in February while leading the race. Townley charged back from a 25-point deficit and scored wins at St. Louis, Daytona Beach and Dallas to rally back into the points chase. He earned the championship with a solid second place finish in the final race of the SX Lites East title chase giving him a three-point margin of victory. On his way to the title Townley took three wins and two podiums. “It’s going really well,” said Townley. “The Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki team is brilliant, Parts Unlimited, and all those people put their heart and soul into it. Especially those guys on the team and their dedication–it goes a long ways and it makes me more dedicated to put my best effort into it.”
In addition to winning both the Supercross East and West Lites Championships, Pro Circuit Kawasaki was named Supercross Team of the Year at the Supercross Banquet in Las Vegas this past May. So, what’s next for Pro Circuit and their Supercross Lites Champions? The Outdoor Motocross Nationals! Villopoto is the defending MX Lites National Champion and it looks as though his teammate Townley might be his biggest competition for the 2007 season. “I’m comfortable with American motocross tracks,” said Townley. “I definitely think I will be comfortable out there ready to go from the get-go.”
Pro Circuit believes the racetrack is the only place to figure out what works and what doesn’t. The shop is a good place to make sure that a product is technically sound, but if you don’t use and test a product in the environment that it is meant for, all you have is numbers. They race so that you and your customers benefit from a better product, a product you can count on when you want to win. Pro Circuit offers an amazing line of performance products through Parts Unlimited that are proven winners. “We Race, We Win, You Benefit” isn’t just the company motto, it’s their way of life. Does Pro Circuit make race-winning machines? Just ask Ryan Villopoto and Ben Townley. 
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