Townley (Collarbone) Hurt Again
Thursday, March 21, 2013 | 10:50 AM
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PrintCarlton Dry Honda Racing has confirmed that Ben Townley suffered a broken collarbone in training for the 2013 Monster Energy MX Nationals.
Townley underwent surgery in Melbourne on Tuesday after suffering the injury in Victoria over the weekend, but remains upbeat that he will be behind the gates at the MXN series opener on 14 April.
“I crashed while testing and broke my collarbone so in order to ensure it is fully healed for the start of the MX Nationals it has been plated,” Towley explained.
“While it is not ideal, I feel that up until that point I had done a lot of riding including racing the Woodville GP and opening round of the NZ MX Nationals.
“I have been training twice as hard off the bike and look forward to concluding our testing program in the next fortnight.
“I want to say a big thank you to Simon Maas from RACESAFE for arranging everything for me yet again.”
The opening round of the MX Nationals will be held at Raymond Terrace on Sunday, 14 April.
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This has become a yearly headline for the past several now...bones made of glass?
Hope he heals up fine and in time. Collarbone is pretty minor.
Aaa common, man! Ben can't catch a break!!! Or can he? Heal up fast!! The guy that could be a top 5 in the world, but can't show nothing because he's hurt all the time. I hope bad luck runs out on you, BT.
Townley needs to stop racing and go fishing. His speed is no good if he can't keep it under control. No factory would dare hire him.
And don't get me wrong, I like the guy and respect his speed. Please get well soon Ben and hope to see you at Hangtown.
Some riders just don't have much luck. We have a few here in the states that are in the same boat.. Heel up BT..
@ Magoo
If that's the case, how do these guys keep getting rides? They get hurt just as much.
Canard
Grant
Izzi
Sipes
Hahn
Stewart
Durham
Short
Hill
@Motod6,, Stewart?? I know he gets hurt more than he should,,, but at least he wins some races.. Are you talking about Malcom?
right on mxmofo1 and why is short on that list?? he has not missed many races in the lat 5 years.
Ben intentionally rammed and took out Short in the MX of nations trying to ruin Americas chances so his karma is well deserved in my opinion and I do enjoy every episode of it..
@MagooRocked Townley would probably break his arm reeling in a "Tuner"
He you forgot to add Milsaps to the mix.... He will not be in the top 5 outdoors either.......
Not everyones bone density is the same. This could by why some guys suffer more breaks than others.
@Uncle Charlie Iowa City,,, Milsaps? Please explain?
BillC and mxmofo.
I was just basically saying to Magoo that the industry will still hire riders based on their old speed. Wasn't trying to put any riders down or stick up for Townel.
Bill C
As for Short, hes been hurt at least the last 3 years
2010 Missed 6-8 weeks of SX w/ leg injury
2011 Missed 6-8 weeks of MX broke both arms
2012 Missed 6-8 weeks of MX w/ shoulder
I was wrong 2012 was SX not MX just looked it up
@Motod6 ,, you said --"I was just basically saying to Magoo that the industry will still hire riders based on their old speed."
If there old speed is fast enough, they will get hired... Most of the time, they hire who they can,, not who they want.. Still puzzled why you put Stewy on that list?
lets just start with last year and work backwards LOL ! You figure it out tweener !
There's quite a few privateers making SX main events right now that would kill for this kind of press coverage.
Stop giving Townley updates.......why would we care?
@Uncle Charlie Iowa City ,, Are you calling me a "tweener.?" If so, whats a "tweener?"
Drink more milk : ) Well you can't say he isn't afraid to go for it .... and get back up and go for it again ... and again .. and again.
These guys all work hard to get to the top. Don’t pile on... everybody gets ‘bit’ ...some more than others. Hope Townley recovers quickly... would be good to see him back here Outdoors.
@MXdad318 - Look two inches to the left of the Townley Update on your computer screen and you'll find Privateer Profile, a feature we run every week. From there, scroll down two inches to Racer X Notebook. There we cover topics that normally tend to slip between the cracks. Privateers are in that feature more often than not. Scroll down another two inches to 250 Words: Indy. In this feature, DC talks about privateer Kyle Peters, his first professional podium and what it's like to take your helmet off and introduce yourself to a stadium full of people for the first time in your life. These are all in the main feature carousel. Check 'em out.
Anyways, I hope Townley gets well soon and brushes off that bad luck he's been mixed up with for what seems to be way too long. That guy can haul and was always a pleasure to watch racing over here in the States.
Yes--I can see Stewart on that list.. He was hurt last year in the Nationals, hurt himself last season in supercross.. Has missed out on tons of races in his career from injuries.. So yes, I can see him on that list...I know the same 2 or 3 guys will take exception to this, but look it up and see, he hasnt won in 4 seasons now, and his injuries keep piling up, heck he was injured coming into the supercross season..
mxmofo1
Just my opinion. It was based on someone elses comment of "His speed is no good if he can't keep it under control"
MOFO1 SPEAKS for it self......................MX you should change your mane your MAMA WOULD BE VERY PROUD!
@Red44 ,, The question was " If that's the case, how do these guys keep getting rides? They get hurt just as much."
Its pretty clear to me how JS keeps getting rides.. You dont agree?
@Motod6,, If you keep your speed "under control," It would be really tough to win championships,, unless its extremely un-competive..
That guy is made of glass! Holy crap... he couldn't bump into a door without breaking a bone. Maybe take some gymnastics classes to learn how to fall without killing yourself..
mxmotherfuuucker1 stick it in your poopshut
@ Motod6 - Remember what I said, a "Factory" would not dare hire him. Big difference in a Factory ride and even a ride that gets Factory parts.
Even so lets look at the list:
Canard - Honda obviously likes him, very marketable rider and won 450 SX
Grant - Good point. Not on Factory ride, and this may be his last ride with a salary.
Izzi - Not on a Factory ride, but has name recognition and speed. Lots of potential.
Sipes - Not on a Factory ride, has won, still young and has upside potential.
Hahn - You kidding? He's competing for a championship. Obviously liked and timing
Stewart - Must be a typo, you said James Stewart right?
Durham - Time is running out for this short time with a Support team.
Short - Not on a Factory ride, but is consistent. A small team they can build off him
Hill - Has to deliver measurable results, RCH must be seeing it or they will move on
So - Ben has won a World Championship (not marketable in the US) years ago. Won 250 races...years ago and has very spotty respectable results since then in the US, back in Europe and in NZ. He's not going to be paid in the US by a factory on potential, or for a serious championship contender, or even as a great test rider. Without the ability to stay healthy and go fast he is stuck in Support rides and paid for performance only.
@Uncle Charlie Iowa City,, I asked a simple question,, and you never gave an answer,, just got your undies in a bunch for some reason.. Maybe you should learn how to spell, and then your "MAMA WOULD BE VERY PROUD!"
If you can't figure out why DV ( Davi Millsaps if you're not sure ) got a ride this year, you must be eating to much corn..
@MagooRocked,, I think Josh Grant's team would be considered as a Factory Team..
Magoo
Yeah I guess I didn't look closely at the "factory". But factory is such loose term now I just kinda took it as a "good ride".
Townley was offered pretty good money to stay with Troy back on the 450's, but thought he deserved more and got greedy. That's the difference between a lot
of the Guy's listed above who are barely getting expenses paid and guy's like
Townley who expect to get paid big bucks. He was impressive on the 250's,
but overall, he can't run our pace in the U.S. on 450's (in or out- CONSISTENTLY)
He'll be good in a fortnight, mate.
If I read the quote correctly it says he was going to start the Monster Energy Nationals, I took it to mean the AMA nationals. Am I wrong here? Is there another Monster Energy National series? If it is in the U.S., who gave him a ride?
I think it is the New Zealand Nationals. They must be sponsored by Monster.
It is the Aussie Nationals.
@MagooRocked How many teams are actually a true factory team now?? Every Team has major sponsors that carry the team not from full factory support!! Get your shit straight so you don't look like a jackass next time...... I don't even know if there is a team that is true Factory except for KTM.
Did I read the note correctly? The Nationals season opener on April 14th?
Is it starting before sx season concludes?
Ben may be fast but it doesn't mean squat if he can only do it without wrecking himself for maybe a couple of weeks before he's out for the year. Pastrana was fast too and he pretzled himself out of the sport at age 20.
It's hard to feel sorry for Ben with his long list of eyebrow raising moves:
- His diva attitude to an MXA reporter here (http://motocrossactionmag.com/Main/News/MXA-MIDWEEK-REPORT-6944.aspx)
- Taking out Andrew Short at the MXDN in Colorado
- Turning down Troy Lee's offer in the States to take the money for Kawaski in Europe.
- Bailing on that team mid-season when he got lapped
- Bailing on the Carlton Dry team in Australia at the first opportunity to take Reed's
bike.
Karma is a funny thing.
I'm sure his biggest nut-swinger Ping will come and tell us how great he is though and that we're all nobodies behind a computer screen.
Yitzhak
His run in with Shorty at MXoN was a pure racing incident. If anything, it was more of Andrews fault. BT clearly beat him to the inside of left-hander while Shorty was railing outside. It looked like BT's momentum carried him into Shorts lane and if Andrew wasn't too concentrated on his fender he could easily check up a little and avoid the collision. That's what happens when two gnarly fast dudes get committed to one corner. Lol. Just a racing incident! Btw, I never saw Townley being a dirty rider.
That blows . Forget Carlton Dry, this guy needs Milk.
Ben intentionally rammed and took out Short in the MX of nations trying to ruin Americas chances so his karma is well deserved in my opinion and I do enjoy every episode of it..
man some of u peps squak like bunch of hens bummer for town an fact is fact james keeps getting his big shots cuz of all the hype an publicity he gives him self... yeah he is still smoke n fast but come on give some other people some shots stew has plenty but just cant do it. hes shown that the last few years.. i do remember stuff goin that he was blaming the yam..?? huh an still same ol stuff same ol results as when he was on that yam.. the prob is stew. ha... man i dont care for him. toooo big of a head. dont care for people like that...
man some of u peps squak like bunch of hens bummer for town an fact is fact james keeps getting his big shots cuz of all the hype an publicity he gives him self... yeah he is still smoke n fast but come on give some other people some shots stew has plenty but just cant do it. hes shown that the last few years.. i do remember stuff goin that he was blaming the yam..?? huh an still same ol stuff same ol results as when he was on that yam.. the prob is stew. ha... man i dont care for him. toooo big of a head. dont care for people like that...