Image: Simon Makker.

Former world champion Ben Townley will introduce a new style of competition to New Zealand in 2014, dubbed SPEEDCROSS.

SPEEDCROSS is a combination of motocross, supercross and speedway, developed by Townley after attending the Speedway Grand Prix in NZ earlier this year.

“It’s probably nine months ago that the idea came into my mind,” Townley said. “I went to the world championships, speedway, as a spectator and I was just really excited about it.

“That was the initial part of the idea – four riders, four laps, really short, sharp, exciting racing and a lot of races throughout the evening. In that nine months I started doing sketches and thought about different, unique ideas.

“The biggest thing the entire time was keeping it simple and that’s what I’ve tried to do.”

Townley will officially launch the project in Taupo this weekend when the club hosts a SPEEDCROSS Ride Day between 2:00pm and 5:00pm on Saturday, 14 December.

The Taupo SPEEDCROSS circuit has a combination of 90-foot tabletops, rollers, berms and a selection of varying turns to bring Townley’s concept to life.

The ride day will be split into Minis, Juniors, Vets and Senior categories at a cost of $10.00 per entry.

Click here to watch a film including Townley in action on the first SPEEDCROSS track in NZ.