Cycle News

David Pearson Rules Townley Signs With KTM Idaho City ISDE Qualifier W orld MX2 Cham pions h ip points leader Ben Townley will move up to the MX I class for next season after resigning with the KTM factory. Townley, who is considered the brightest new star in Europe, had considered competing in the AMA series in 2005 , but he will now go head to head with Stefan Everts next year. "KTM gave me an opportunity when I was still an up-and-coming rider, and they have stuck with me through my rough times:' said Townley. "The company is focused on winning races and that's what we are going to be aiming for in 2005 . I will also be involved In the deve lopment of the new 4500c engine , David Pea rson dominated the Idaho City 100. K awasaki's Team Green David Pearson was the big winner at the June 5-6 Idaho City 100, the first of two events on the AMA National 2-Day ISDE Reliability Qualifier schedule. Pearson overalled both days and was the quickest rider in every special test except one. Second best was KTM's Kurt Caselli, who was the "Top American" at last year's ISDE in Brazil. Third overal l went to KTM-mounted Nick Pearson . which means that we can build the best bike possible . I'm really happy to conti nue my re lations hip w ith KTM." Townley has raced KTM bikes for the past three seasons and is the current leader of the MX2 World Championship. He will race the new SX450. The new machine features a new engine based on the same concept as his current SXF250. The Kiwi tested the motorcycle two weeks ago in Holland. KTM plans to continue with all rIVe of its current GP riders in 2005, with a maximum of three riders in MX I and three riders in MX2. Those riders are Townley, TylaRattray, Steve Ramon, Kenneth Gundersen and Marc de Reuver. Geoff Meyer M oose Run Win t o Woodford In Morrison, Illinois, on June 6, KawasakiTeam Green's Chuck Woodford scored the overall win at what many refer to as "the toughest offroad race in America." The Moose Run, the third round of the Off-Road Motorcycle and ATV (OMA) Nationals, got off to an exciting This is not the kind of race that you want to make a lot of mistakes because you just plain wear yoursel f out just picking yourself up over and over. Eventually, I crashed hard enough that I bent my rear brake pedal out, and I had to stop and bend it back. From This is not the kind of race that you want to make a lot of mistakes because you just plain wear yourself out just picking yourself up over and over. - Chuck Woodford start, with Woodford and Yamaha rider Jimmy Jarret getting out in front and spending the next five laps battling back and forth. The two riders took turns leading before Woodford started pulling away and built up a 4 1/2 minute lead before all was said and done . "I just couldn't shake Jarrett," Woodford said. "Every time I'd start to pull away, I'd do something dumb and endo or something. the re, I knew I had to settle down or I'd end up taking myself out." Jarrett ended up second after the sevenlap race . "Wood ford and I probably broke away too fast in the beginning," Jarrett said. "We both ended up making a lot of mistakes, and I just wore myself out. When he stopped to fix his brake , that was the last time I had the 10 JUNE 16, 2004 ��� CYCL E NEWS I lead. I ended up hitting a tree pretty hard and just had to back down and let Chuck go." Rounding out the top five were Cole 40th Anniversary Calkins (Kaw), Shane Watts (KTM) and Nathan Kanney (Yam). Ste ve Ber1

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