Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Even though John Dowd has retired, at least full-time, from the National MX circuit, he's been keeping quite busy. Retirement means he now has the chance to try other forms of racing, such as last year's Maxxis EnduroCross and most recently the Wisp Grand National Cross Country, where he placed fourth. It was his first GNCC race, and we chatted with Dowd about his expe- rience afterward. cn: So what did you think of the race? johndowd: It was pretty fun. It was pretty muddy. I didn't really get too good of a start, I guess. I just tried to be patient and work my way up there. I didn't know who anybody was. It was so muddy, you couldn't see num- bers or anything. My plan to follow some- body fast kind of went out the window. I was just trying to ride and stay out of trouble. I think I had some good laps and some bad laps. Cn: Were there any key turning points for you in the race? johndowd: I think on the third lap, I put in a really good lap. Then the fourth lap, it was bad. I crashed a few times and got stuck in the mud one time. I really just lost a ton of ground. By the end of the third lap, I was actually pretty close to "U-Haul" [Juha Salminen]. I think it was second or whatev- er. By the end of the fourth lap, I was like a minute or a minute and a half down. I blew it on the fourth lap. cn: This was your first GNCC, right? johndowd: Yeah. It was definitely a long time out there. I had a feeling that that was going to be hard for me. I was right. It was hard. Like the fifth and the sixth lap were hard. I was tired. My arms were tired. My gloves were all wet and muddy. I was just struggling at that point and trying to hang on. cn: What made you decide to do this race? johndowd: I have been wanting to try one for a while. I thought this one would be close to home. Apparently it's not as close as I thought it was. But, whatever, I had a week- end off and decided to come out and try it. cn: Was it weird for you, racing on a track that you've never seen before and without practice? johndowd: Yeah, that was really weird, rac- ing around on the first lap, not knowing where you are going. It wasn't bad when I had someone in front of me. I was just kind of following them. At one point, after my bad start, I got by a group of guys and was all alone for a while, so I didn't know where I was going. A few times I almost missed the turns and stuff. cn: How did you set up your bike? johndowd: Factory Connection did my sus- pension. I guess they make it softer. We put Bark Busters on and a bigger tank, skid plates, stuff to protect it a little more, I guess. cn: Are you ready to hit the GNCC circuit now? johndowd: No, not yet. I think I am going to try maybe one more. Maybe I will try the Unadilla round. I am not ready to do the whole thing yet. We will see how that goes. I would like to try a dry one and see how I like that. This is fun. It was hard. I am not really thinking I want to jump in like that. It was pretty tough. cn: What's harder, a three-hour GNCC or a 20-minute endurocross? johndowd: This is definitely harder. The endurocross was hard, but it was quick. It was intense and definitely got my heartbeat going. This thing was so damn long, I was exhausted by the end. cn: What else do you have planned for the summer? johndowd: I am going to do a couple more motocross Nationals - Unadilla and Binghamton, probably – then just a bunch of local races. cn: So did you get done what you planned? johndowd: I am pretty happy overall. I was wondering if I could finish. I did all right, I guess. Steve Bruhn "That guy has everything it takes to win [an AMA] championship," Ricky Carmichael said of Ben Townley after the 2005 Motocross des Nations. Townley, the 2004 MX2 World Champion, finished second in the MXdN and in the MX1 World Championship last year, and turned his sights to the United States. The young New Zealander signed with Team Monster/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki and was slat- ed to contest the Supercross Lites East Series but was sidelined with a knee injury before the start of his season. Finally recov- ered, Townley made his AMA race debut last weekend at Red Bud, scoring an impres- sive top-five finish. Townley talks about the race, his injury, and his first impression of American motocrossers. cn: How was Red Bud for you? bentownley: I loved it. When I first rode out on the track, I said it was awesome. I loved it from the beginning. The qualifying races went real well, so everything was looking pretty good. I won qualifiers yester- day and today. It worked out good. cn: Refresh us on your injury. bentownley: I was training in the middle of January, getting ready for East Coast Supercross, and went down. It was unfortu- nate; it just took off wrong and hurt my knee. Since then, I have been working on trying to get back for the outdoors. The original plan was to get back for Hangtown, but it was a lot bigger injury than I initially per- ceived. It took a while. I wanted to come back when I was good, and this was the time. cn: What's your take on the American riders - first impression? bentownley: The talent is very good. In that first moto, I think I was about sixth. I thought that I was going to make pretty easy work of it to begin with. I got into their rhythm and couldn't get past them for a while. I think I was in fourth or fifth. I had come off a 450, and you can just change your line a little bit easier than you can on a 250F. When you are out there racing a 250F, you really have to be intense to make a pass. It seemed a lot of the passes today came from mistakes. As far as the talent here, it was what I expected, def- initely. cn: Unadilla is in two weeks. What are your goals? bentownley: I want to be up on the podi- um. It's my second race, so I showed myself (at Red Bud) I have the speed to be there. I need to get off the line better. That is one of my major goals, and then see how it goes. At the moment I just want to get some consis- tent finishes. I was hoping for a little better here, but I had a pretty good day. I came away with a decent result. cn: What are your plans for the future? bentownley: For now, I am staying in Lites. I missed a whole Supercross season. I lost the chance for an outdoor title, so I will be back in Lites next year. cn: You have been living with Ricky Carmichael in Florida. bentownley: The whole crew down there [at RC's place in Tallahassee, Florida] has been awesome. It is a pretty tight crew – Aldon [Baker, trainer] and his wife, a good friend of Ricky's, J.H. Leale, Ricky and Ursula, Big Rick and Jeannie [Carmichael]. Everyone is pretty tight, and they have looked out for Lucy and I, and my practice mechanic, Rubin, a lot. It was a big lifestyle change from New Zealand to Europe and now Europe to America. Everyone has been real supportive and made the change easy. I have really enjoyed living there so far. cn: So, next year, will you be gunning for a regional Supercross title? bentownley: That's the plan, and a National title. I have to finish off this year strong and get some momentum going, and carry it through to next year. Steve Bruhn JULY 12, 2006 • C Y C L E N E W S 12 John Dowd: Dowd And The Wisp Ben Townley: Back On Track PHOTO BY RAYMOND GUNDY

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