Prumm takes honours in first Australian Women’s Championship round

Prumm rode her Kawasaki to two comfortable race wins to be leading the championship, from fellow Kawasaki rider Ashley Bates and Motorex KTM factory rider Kristy Gillespie. Bates managed third spot in the first race after finishing behind Gillespie and Prumm, but managed to turn the tables on Gillespie in the final moto to take second on the podium. Kiwi Prumm was happy to take maximum points from the round, and despite not being entirely satisfied with her riding performance is looking forward to the remainder of the championship. "I am happy with the wins, but I am not so happy with the way that I rode," Prumm admitted. "It's just one of those days ‰ÛÒ everyone has their off days and that was my one. "The track was pretty good and it had some tricky sections which was where I struggled a little bit. The bike was kicking me a little bit too, but overall the day went alright. "I am looking forward to the next round to try and go a little bit better." Bates was thrilled with her performances and is also looking forward to taking on Prumm at the next round in New South Wales in June. "I am very happy with my day ‰ÛÒ I thought I rode pretty well and am very happy with how I went. "It is pretty tough when you have to race against the World Champion, but I have just gone into seniors so I think I did pretty well - I can't wait for the next round!" Gillespie lead the Australian charge at the opening round of competition, and is hoping that the opening round will have set a good foundation in her quest to finish the Championship among the top-three. "I was fairly happy with that ‰ÛÒ the first race was really good but the second race was a bit average. It's really rough out there so overall it was pretty good. "The bike handled itself really well and I had a great package, and with three more rounds to go, hopefully I can stay on the podium and be up there at the end overall." The second round of the 2007 Australian Women's Motocross Championship will take place in Lakes, New South Wales on June 3. Several Junior classes were in action throughout the day, and the event with the likes of Mitchell Austin, Tye Simmonds and Sam Martin all shining in their respective classes. Austin was the pick of the riders aboard in the Craig Dack Rookies under 15 years class, with a second and first in his two motos giving him the class honours with 47 points, ahead of Alex Morris (38 points) and Matt Ginders (38 points). The KTM rider said that he had a fun day out on the track, and will be looking to keep up his good form at the next round in June. "It was awesome and I just had fun out there," he said. "I just had to be smart through the wet parts, keep throttle control and hopefully I can do well and win the next round - hopefully I can stay on the bike and do what we did this weekend." In the Maxxis 13 to 14 years 250cc class, riding was tight in both motos with Simmonds picking up a second placing and first placing to score the same overall round points (47) as New Zealand's Hamish Dobbyn. Troy Seraceno and Harrison Wooding both scored 38 points to finish third and fourth respectively, however it was the triple class winner from the 2006 Australian Junior Motocross Championship, Simmonds, who came home the strongest. "I am not so happy with my racing because I made quite a few mistakes today," Simmonds admitted. "I am happy with the results, but I really need to work on my fitness. We are going bake to the USA in May to try and get back to where I want to be, so it all should be good." Martin took two convincing race wins in the Yamaha Academy 12 to 14 years 85cc class and said that despite the hot conditions he managed to have some fun out there. "I was really happy with the way I rode because it gets pretty hot after 15 minutes out there. "The track was pretty good ‰ÛÒ it was getting a bit rough in the last race, but it was fun." Main Photo: Katherine Prumm in action
Photo: Tony Taylor.