The see-saw ride continued for many of the top contenders in the United States motocross championships at the weekend.

New Zealand’s Ben Townley fired off two more top-10 finishes at round seven of the AMA Motocross Championships at the weekend, but, with the series heading into the second half of the season now, he knows he needs to do more to catch the seemingly unbeatable Ryan Dungey.

With just five rounds to go to complete the season, Bay of Plenty rider Townley is now up to third overall in the US series standings after the weekend’s racing at Millville, Minnesota, but a massive 95 points behind the runaway leader, Suzuki’s Dungey, who enjoyed another set of back-to-back wins.

Townley (Honda) finished fourth and fifth in his two 450cc class races at Millville, good enough for fifth overall on the day, while, significantly, several other key riders had shocking performances.

Defending champion Chad Reed (Kawasaki), of Australia, who had been second in the rankings at the start of the day, scored no points at Millville and slipped to sixth spot in the championship chase.

Fellow Australian Brett Metcalfe (Honda) finished 16-6 at Millville and slipped from third to fourth in the standings, while Yamaha’s Josh Grant finished 2-10 to move up one spot from fifth to fourth in the standings.

Millville welcomed the return to top-flight racing of former factory Honda rider Kevin Windham, who clocked 5-4 scores on the day at the Minnesota track – equal with Townley – but it was his first outing in the championship this season and he has virtually no chance of a top-10 overall result.

Windham grabbed the holeshot at the start of race one, but was quickly passed by Dungey, who then pulled a gap on the pack, and finished the race comfortably in front of Grant, with Short taking third spot.

Race two was more of the same. Although this time it was Townley who took the holeshot. After a few laps, Dungey took over the lead and began to pull away. In the end, Dungey finished the race ahead of Texas rider Kyle Regal (Honda), and Short again finished third.

“Although I have climbed to third in the championship, I am actually disappointed with my result today,” said Townley. “After Red Bud, I thought I knew what it would take to run up front and stay there but it just never seemed to work today. We made some improvements on the bike and still have some more to come so I’m look forward to piecing it all together.”

Meanwhile, in the 250cc class, Honda’s Trey Canard won the day with a 2-1 scoreline.

“My comfort level and belief in myself went up,” said Canard, who raced to the moto two win in heavy rain.

“I came in more self relieved. When you come in like that you’re less nervous and it all comes easier. The effort I put in today was good for me. I’m just excited about what’s going on and I hope to keep (the momentum) going.”

The 250 Class rookie and Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider Dean Wilson, of Scotland, grabbed the runner-up spot (6-2) with his team-mate Tyla Rattray, of South Africa, rounding out the podium in third (4-4). Their team-mate and current points leader Christophe Pourcel, of France, finished off the podium for the first time in 2010 in fifth (1-10).

Pourcel’s advantage over Wilson in the championship standings sits at 32 points. The Frenchman also leads the class in laps led with 99 and an average finish of 2.9.

Next weekend, the 2010 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship returns to action for round eight and the Motosport.com Washougal Retro National from Washougal Motocross Park in Washougal, Wash.

Spring Creek MX Park – Millville, Minn – Round 7 of 12

450 Class (Moto Finish)

Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki (1-1)

Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda (3-3)

Kyle Regal, Kemp, Texas, Honda (8-2)

Kevin Windham, Centreville, Miss., Honda (5-4)

Ben Townley, New Zealand, Honda (4-5)

Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Yamaha (2-10)

Ryan Sipes, Flaherty, Texas, Yamaha (9-7)

Kyle Chisholm, Valrico, Fla., Yamaha (7-9)

Brett Metcalfe, Australia, Honda (16-6)

Nick Wey, Dewitt, Mich., Kawasaki (11-11)

450 Class Championship Standings

Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki, 318

Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda, 229

Ben Townley, New Zealand, Honda, 223

Brett Metcalfe, Australia, Honda, 221

Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Yamaha, 215

Chad Reed, Australia, Kawasaki, 204

Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., KTM, 196

Kyle Regal, Kemp, Texas, Honda, 157

Ryan Sipes, Flaherty, Texas, Yamaha, 140

Kyle Chisholm, Valrico, Fla., Yamaha, 134

250 Class (Moto Finish)

Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda (2-1)

Dean Wilson, Scotland, Kawasaki (6-2)

Tyla Rattray, South Africa, Kawasaki (4-4)

Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Kawasaki (3-5)

Christophe Pourcel, France, Kawasaki (1-10)

Blake Wharton, Pilot Point, Texas, Honda (5-7)

Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Yamaha (7-6)

Justin Barcia, Ochlocknee, Ga., Honda (16-3)

Tommy Searle, England, KTM (11-9)

Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., Honda (8-15)

250 Class Championship Standings

Christophe Pourcel, France, Kawasaki, 296

Dean Wilson, Scotland, Kawasaki, 264

Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda, 252

Tyla Rattray, South Africa, Kawasaki, 248

Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Yamaha, 209

Justin Barcia, Ochlocknee, Ga., Honda, 201

Blake Wharton, Pilot Point, Texas, Honda, 175

Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Honda, 174

Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Kawasaki, 165

Martin Davalos, Ecuador, Yamaha, 147

© Words and photo by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com