Team Suzuki World MXGP’s Ben Townley made a strong debut with his new European team at the Hawkstone International event in the UK.

In his first official race back as a full-time professional racer, the New Zealander admits he struggled with tough conditions before it all came together and the hard work began to pay off.

“I was super excited to be behind the start gate again and race,” said Townley. “The track conditions, however, were hard and after the first race I asked myself what I was doing in Europe again.

“But then I got better, I had a good start in the second moto and could really feel why I had been working so hard over the winter and I was really happy passing Clement Desalle on the last lap.”

Using a 6-2 scorecard Townley finished third overall on the day, logging the fastest lap of the race during the Superfinal along the way.

“In the Superfinal, I had a bad start and I found it hard to pass the guys in front of me,” he added. “Then Kevin [Strijbos] passed me and I started to follow the leaders. It was really nice to ride behind them for a couple of laps and I even had the fastest lap of the race.”

Townley and the Team Suzuki World MXGP team will attend their second international pre-season event next weekend in Valence, France.