It’s been a challenging start for Levi Townley in his first season in Europe who is now injured following a crash in Italy. After doing his summer preseason training in New Zealand and racing the first two rounds of the NZMX Championships, the entire Townley family packed up everything and headed to Europe to base themselves near the MJC Yamaha team and prepare for his debut EMX125 season.
His first GP was an all-time mud race in Spain that had the young gun in new territory as far as track conditions were concerned, as rain turned the race into a matter of survival and Levi got his first taste of GP mud.
Round two was in the deep sand of Sardinia in Italy, and despite some great starts and being well positioned in the motos, some crashes and bike issues dampened his day. But there were some green shoots in his racing, and he beat many of the top EMX125 in the Dutch Masters.
But that momentum slammed to a halt when he had a nasty fall in qualifying in Italy. A rock had lodged itself in the chain guide of his YZ125, and as he took flight on one of the large tabletops, the rear wheel locked up and he was ejected from his bike on landing.
The result was a broken lower leg that fortunately doesn’t require surgery and Townley will be sidelined for six weeks while he recovers.
“He has had quite the welcome to Europe,” confirms his father and former world 125 champion, Ben. “Racing in Europe isn’t easy and he has faced plenty of adversity since we have landed here, but it makes you tough and he will learn from it.
“He is a tough kid and will stick at it and I’m sure his luck will turn soon and he will be able to get the results we know he is capable of,” Townley ends.
