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MAY 14, 2007: New Zealand’s Katherine Prumm has a fight on her hands.
The Kawasaki ace will have to dig deep to win the women’s world motocross crown after a difficult start to her title defence in Germany on Sunday (Monday morning NZ time).
The world No.1 from Bombay, South Auckland, took her Kawasaki KX250F to second and fifth in the two races at the Talkessel circuit, near Leipzig, in Germany, finishing the day fourth overall at this first of three rounds in the women’s championship.
Of the 31 riders who qualified to line up for the Women’s World Cup, Prumm was the only rider from the Southern Hemisphere and, as the reigning world champion, she knew she had a big target on her back.
“I tried not to let that pressure worry me,” said Prumm. “I think a lot of people put pressure on themselves, particularly when defending a title or when they are expected to get certain results.”
But she said she was disappointed with her opening account this season.
“I’ve had luck go my way in past years and today just wasn’t my turn to have things happen for me,” she said after crashing in both her races.
She said the track was very “one-lined”, making it difficult to pass and forcing her to take risks. She crashed while leading the first race and, in the second race, she again crashed and slipped to seventh position before fighting back up to fifth place at the chequered flag.
Germany’s Larissa Papenmeier (Honda) started from pole position and made the most of it by winning on her home soil, winning the first race and coming home fourth in the next outing.
But the racing was close and she finished the day just three points ahead of three Kawasaki riders in hot pursuit.
Runner-up was Germany’s Maria Franke (Kawasaki), with France’s Livia Lancelot, on another Kawasaki, third and Prumm fourth.
Though she missed out on a podium spot, the damage done to Prumm’s campaign is minimal -- the Kiwi hero is only five points behind leader Papenmier and the following two rounds, in Sweden (July 1) and the Netherlands (September 2), will offer no advantage to the German rider.
After finishing as runner-up in the inaugural Women’s World Cup in 2005, Prumm captured the No.1 plate last year in a season that also saw her embellish her profile with several victories in the United States.
The German GP was the first major race meeting for Prumm since she ruptured her knee last year and needed a joint reconstruction. She also missed some time away from the bike with a back problem.
But Prumm was back in action to warm up for her European campaign, easily winning the women’s title at the New Zealand Four-stroke Motocross Championships near Otorohanga three weeks ago.
And there is very little rest and relaxation planned for Prumm.
She now switches her attention to extending her lead in the Australian Women’s Motocross Championships with round two of that series set for New South Wales on June 3, followed by rounds in Toowoomba, Queensland (June 24), and Horsham, Victoria (July 15).
