Dirt Bike News - Ben Townley Wins FIM MX World Championship Round Two Bellpuig Spain - Dirt Rider Magazine

The second round of the FIM Motocross World Championships took place on the famous, technical track of Bellpuig in Spain. The three time World Champion and veteran Alessio Chiodi won in the class MX 2, while the young factory KTM rider, and last year's MX2 Champion, Ben Townley won his first MX1 GP.MX1 CLASSIt was a day to forget for eight-time World Champion Stefan Everts. Two crashes in Moto 1 left him to finish eighth. Everts was determined to do better in Moto 2, and did, finishing second, but his results were not enough to maintain the championship points lead. Mickael Pichon's 1-6 finish gave him second overall at the Spanish GP, and he now moves into the lead, four points ahead of Everts who is now tied with Joel Smets for second.Ben Townley: "I'm really happy! I didn't expect to win so early in the championship. Moving up to the MX1 class the racing has been so intense with guys like Stefan, Jol, Michael and Josh. Some of these guys have been my hero's when I came to Europe five years ago and now it's great to be racing them and beating them. I can't say enough about KTM at the moment—they have been really working hard every day, every minute to win races—we showed today that we can and it's their first in the MX1 class and hopefully we'll have some more!"Mickael Pichon is still citing problems with his suspension, but is admittedly happy to have moved into the points lead: "It was a good weekend. I was able to take second in the GP and I am now leading the Championship. I don't feel like I am riding my best at the moment. We have to sort out the problem we're having with the forks. It was the same situation in Zolder but improved a bit for today. We have to keep working to find a solution."Stefan Everts: "I'm disappointed that I couldn't do any better this weekend. I had good start in the first Moto, but I pushed too much and made a mistake in the whoops. I went over the handlebars and the bike landed on top of me, bruising my ribs on the left side. In the second crash I sprained my left thumb. I was in a lot of pain in the second race and I suffered a lot of arm pump because my hand was taped. I was lucky to finish second after Coppins crashed. I felt completely exhausted after the race, charging so hard while being injured."

| | MX1 Moto 1 1. M. Pichon 2. B. Townley 3. B. Jorgensen 4. J. Coppins 5. S. Ramon 6. J. Noble 7. J. Smets 8. S. Everts 9. M. Hucklebridge MX1 Moto 2 1. J. Smets 2. S. Everts 3. B. Townley 4. J. Coppins 5. S. Ramon 6. M. Pichon 7. J. Vico Garcia 8. K. Nemeth 9. K. Strijbos Championship After Round 2 1. Mickael Pichon Honda FRA 84 2. Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 80 3. Joel Smets Suzuki BEL 80 4. Ben Townley KTM NZL 78 5. Joshua Coppins Honda NZL 61 6. Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 48 7. Steve Ramon KTM BEL 45 8. James Noble Honda GBR 43 9. Paul Cooper Honda GBR 42

MX2 CLASSAfter his dominating performance in the previous GP (Zolder), many looked to Tyla Rattray for a repeat performance, but the factory KTM rider only finished fourth in the Moto 1 and DNF'd after breaking his chain in Moto 2. The young South African has now lost the championship points lead. The GP victory instead went to the veteran, Alessio Chiodi.After a sudden disappearance during last weekend British championships there is a question mark behind Team RWJ Honda's Mike Brown's participation at the Spanish GP. Rumors say he might be return to the US soon and race the outdoor nationals. Another US rider, Mike Alessi, has suffered a bacck injury and postponed his GP debut.The Italian Antonio Cairoli holeshot the first MX2 Moto and rode to his first Moto victory of the season, followed by Chiodi, Eggens and Rattray in fourth. Moto 2 was a suprise as Scotland's Billy Mackanzie dominated, leading the race from start to finish. The Yamaha UK rider started second and quickly overtook Australian Andrew Mc Farlane for the lead. Mackenzie finished ahead of McFarlane and Chiodi. But it was Chiodi's 2-3 finish that won the Spanish GP.Cedric Melotte now leads the championship with 74 points , followed by Cairoli (72) and Rattray (68).Alessio Chiodi "I suddenly feel quite old because it's been five years since I won my last Grand Prix! After all those years with injuries and a very difficult start to the season last year, it's an amazing feeling to be on the top of the podium again. This win gives me a lot of confidence for the races to come."Antonio Cairoli : "In general I feel very good about this GP, because the ankle injury I sustained in Zolder was a lot worse than we thought at first and I was not able to train for two weeks so to be on the podium is great."Tyla Rattray: "My chain broke going through the whoops in the second Moto. I am disappointed because I could have increased my World Championship lead and now I am six points behind, but these things happen.

| | MX2 Moto 1 1. A Cairoli 2. A Chiodi 3. E Eggens 4. T Rattray 5. D Guarneri 6. C Melotte 7. S Sword 8. P Caps 9. M Bonini MX2 Moto 2 1. B Mackenzie 2. A McFarlane 3. A Chiodi 4. S Sword 5. C Pourcel 6. C Melotte 7. M Bonini 8. A Cairoli 9. D Philippaerts MX2 Championship After Round 2 1. Cedric Melotte Yamaha BEL 74 2. Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 72 3. Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 68 4. Alessio Chiodi Yamaha ITA 67 5. Andrew McFarlane Yamaha AUS 57 6. Erik Eggens Honda NED 53 7. Stephen Sword Kawasaki BGR 53 8. Carl Nunn KTM GBR 40 9. Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 38 17. Mike Brown Honda USA 19