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MAY 15 2006: New Zealand’s Katherine Prumm is on top of the podium everywhere she stands.
The 17-year-old university student from Pukekohe is just two weeks into her latest international foray and already she’s No.1 in Europe and the United States.
The Kawasaki ace stunned the established stars when she scored back-to-back wins at the opening round of the United States Women’s Motocross Championships at Glen Helen, California at the weekend (Sunday morning NZ time).
This cemented her as the world’s best female racer following her big win in Germany the previous weekend when she finished 2-1 at the opening round of the women’s world championships at Teuschenthal, Germany.
Prumm flew from Leipzig on Monday to California to compete at the opening round of the AMA (American Motorcyclists Association) Women's Motocross Championships at Glen Helen and, although she had less than a week to prepare herself for the event and set up a different Kawasaki KX250F to her liking, her race results were even more comprehensive as she won both races convincingly.
The Team Green Kawasaki rider is now top of the podium in two continents.
Prumm battled French rider Livia Lancelot and German Stephanie Laier before she prevailed in Germany and, in the United States, she took her Kawasaki KX250F to hammer the field with 1-1 results while the next best rider, American No.4 Sarah Whitmore, could manage just 3-5 in the two races.
Despite her dominance, Prumm didn’t have it all her own way.
“I spun (the wheels) on the start line and was second-to-last around the first turn and knew that I had to do a lot of catching up to do. I was trying as hard as I could to pass as many riders as I could on the first lap and was in 11th at the end of the first lap.
“I kept working hard and found myself behind Sarah Whitmore (the United States No.4 from Cheboygan, Michigan) and we were battling for about three laps.
“I got up to about fifth by the fourth lap and could see a group in front of me and the race leader was a little way in front of them. The next lap I came around to the big hill out the back and saw that the race leader Tarah Geiger (Vero Beach, Florida) had crashed and now it was only the group of three in front of me.
“I pushed hard and managed to catch them and they were holding me up a bit so I was trying to get past as fast as I could. With about three laps to go in the 20-minute race I got the lead and pulled away from the group and held on to take the race win.”
The blond-haired Kiwi was also caught in traffic at the start of race two but made short work of catching the leaders.
Prumm fought her way through from seventh at the start to be challenging Californian Yamaha rider Alisa Nix for the lead within two laps.
“I was right on her tail for the whole race and I just kept staying close enough and trying to make a pass but couldn’t quite get them to stick. On the last lap I could hear Jessica Patterson (the defending national champion from Tallahasse, Florida) getting close, so I went for it on the corner before two double jumps and passed Nix around the outside of the corner. I crossed the line with another victory.
“I was so happy with my ride. I had felt strong on the bike the whole race and I always felt in control and within my limits.”
Prumm (Kawasaki KX250F) is already Australian and New Zealand women’s champion but her achievements during the past two weekends have seen her rocket to the forefront of the sport internationally.
She will now relax for the next few days, before fitting in some training before competing at the second round of the US series which will be held in conjunction with the 1st round of the men’s motocross nationals, at Hangtown, California, on May 20.
All eyes will be on her now for next weekend and she will then fly home on the May 23 to train for the second and final round of the women’s world championships, to be held at Udevalla Sweden on July 1-2.
