When Tauranga's Ben Townley retired from professional Motocross racing in 2013, it was because he'd simply had enough of too many injuries and too much frustration.
As his body recovered so did his passion, but he never expected to score a factory ride in the World Championship.
"I enjoyed the time off," Townley says. "I've got three young kids [and] I had some business ventures. I enjoyed that. But when I raced, I enjoyed that more."
A decade ago, Townley and compatriot Josh Coppins were at the top of the motocross world. Townley won 13 GP races before injury left him broken both physically and mentally.
"It really affected me," he says. "I put in so much effort to get back, only to be knocked down again. It just got to the point that I didn't want to continue along that path."
He officially retired in 2013, only to rediscover his desire a few months back – leading to a spot at the Motocross of Nations.
"It gave me the opportunity to go out there and make sure it was what I wanted to do again – race at that highest level and have a result that was worthy of me putting myself in this position again."
At the top level second chances are rare enough, but Townley's is a gold-plated opportunity. He'll be riding for the Suzuki factory team run by 10-time world champion Stefan Everts.
"I told my wife I'm keen to give this a crack if I'm with one of the big teams," Townley says. "I guess that's where I am, so you've got to be careful what you ask for sometimes."
Townley returns to the MX1 World Championship in February.
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