Ben Townley Supercrosss Lites Champion -ozzy go- speedtv.com

Ford Field, Detroit, United States, April 21 2007
It was the race everyone was talking about. There was a
championship on the line tonight in Detroit, MI, and it came
down to the wire. It was a fitting end to a very exciting season
for the Eastern Regional Lites class, and when the dust settled
in Ford Field, it was a Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki
rider taking home his first AMA championship.

Everyone knew the scenario, and the championship came down
to who was the best rider on this particular tonight. In fact,
it came down to the rider who made the least mistakes, and
that was Ben Townley.

When the gate dropped, Yamaha of Troy’s Ryan Morais got
the best start of his entire season as he came out second
behind Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey, who collected the
Progressive Direct Holeshot. Ben Townley was around fifth,
and the third championship contender, Darcy Lange, got a
terrible start and was around 18th, pretty much elimi-
nating himself from championship contention.

With Dungey out front, Morais stayed close for the first lap,
and after a very strong showing in his qualifier, Morais was
in a great position to win his first pro championship.
But then something shocking happened, which was the
defining moment of the season. Morais stalled his YZ250F.
He restarted as quickly as possible, and rejoined the race
just outside the top 10. The championship was now Townley’s
to lose.

But he wasn’t going to lose it. While Morais tried to
mount his comeback, the New Zealander battled with SoBe
No Fear/Samsung Mobile Honda’s Billy Laninovich before
slipping into second place. Team Honda’s Tommy Hahn followed
Townley past Laninovich and into a podium position.

But all eyes were on Morais and the calculators were out.
Would he be able to reel in the frontrunners and put himself
into a position to win the title? He tried, valiantly, but
ran out of laps. Morais worked his way up to fifth, but with
Townley in second, it wouldn’t be enough. Ben Townley, the
2004 MX2 World Champion, now added an AMA Supercross Lites
championship to his resume.