Motocross: Townley wins third Tarawera

Place winners Brad Groombridge, second, (left) Ben Townley, first and Hadleigh Knight, third. Photo / Andy McGechan / Bikesportnz.com

Bay of Plenty's Ben Townley has now made it three wins from three starts at the fabled Honda Tarawera 100 cross-country motorcycle marathon near Kawerau.

The 30-year-old former world and national motocross champion took his Honda CRF450 into the lead soon after the start on Saturday of the 160km (100 mile) race.

But it wasn't a case of Townley disappearing into the horizon, but rather a virtual repeat of the race of last season where Taupo's Brad Groombridge (Suzuki RM-Z450) hunted him down and applied pressure right until the end.

There was virtually nothing to separate the pair at the start of the fourth and final lap of the afternoon and it was Groombridge in front, thanks to a slick final re-fuel in the pits, giving him an advantage of several bike lengths as they exited.

But, despite the race typically pushing competitors to eye-watering speeds over treacherous ground it was actually a pass made at walking speed that handed the initiative back to Townley.

"I stayed behind Brad through the first part of that last lap and then we came up on hillside that was snagged with lots of riders unable to get up," Townley said.

"Brad went right and I went left, both of us trying to find a way though, and we were actually only going at walking speed when I edged past him to take the lead.

"I'm glad I got the win in the end and would certainly love to come back and make it four in a row next year."

Townley won the event on debut in 2013, successfully defended it in 2014 and is now a three-time winner of the race.

Third overall was Reporoa 18-year-old Hadleigh Knight (Husqvarna TC250), with Pahiatua's national cross-country champion Paul Whibley (Yamaha YZ450F), Rotorua's Scott Birch (Honda CRF450) and Waitakere's Ethan Martens (Yamaha YZ450F) rounding out the top six finishers.