It could certainly be said that Katherine Prumm has a lot going for her. At just 18 years of age the South African born Kiwi girl from just south of the Bombay Hills has managed a string of motocross titles, both national and international, including World Women's Motocross Champion 2006, Oceania Women's Motocross Champion 2006 & 2003. She was also leading the WMA (American) Women's Motocross Championships when a debilitating knee injury put her out of action.
She's had plenty of coverage in the media, too, both national and international, but none of it seems to have gone to her head. I had the opportunity to have a chat with her just before the big Taupo Motocross meeting in October that saw some major international stars grace our shores. The striking (some would say Amazonian) blonde star has an easygoing relaxed manner, coupled with the enthusiasm of her youth. She was very much looking forward to the Taupo event, even as a spectator.
AC: Katherine, you've been in New Zealand since you were 7, do you recall much of your life in South Africa?
KP: Not a heck of a lot of it, in December last year we went back there, which was the first time in 8 years that I'd been back, so it was cool to go back and see the family. It's only me, my parents and my brother who live in New Zealand so we're pretty far away from home. I never started any riding until I was in New Zealand so I really don't remember that much of South Africa.
AC: What part of South Africa do you com from?
KP: I come from Johannesburg, but we lived on the outskirts.
AC: So do you support the All Blacks or the Springboks?
KP: The All Blacks (laughs) but my parents are usually on the other side!
AC: You got into riding when you were 9 years old, what made you get into such a male dominated sport as Motocross?
KP: We sort of started it for fun and we'd just go on farm four-wheelers up to Kaitaia and spend Christmas up there but I was never really that into it. My brother started racing and I came and watched for 6 months but then I decided that watching wasn't really my thing and begged my parents to get me a bike and it all started from there.
AC: Do you actually come from a farm then?
KP: No, when I started riding we actually lived in a place in Howick where there was no land to ride on, it wasn't until we moved to a 2 acre lifestyle block that I really started getting into it. We had a guy with a Bobcat come in and build us a small track there and my brother kind of took to it like a duck to water so I just tried to keep up with him for a few years.
AC: I suppose you beat him now do you?
KP: (laughs) No, we're still pretty similar.
AC: It's been a pretty quick trip to the top for you, you've won an impressive number of trophies at a young age, so what's coming up in the near future for you?
KP: Well I'm working on trying to get some deals for next year and I've had interest come out of Europe and America from both the teams I was on this year so I'm sort of just hoping that I can get a bit of financial help this year so it doesn't cost so much. But I want to defend my World Title this year and go to America and claim that title.
AC: Did the World Title involve riders from every country or was it more of a European event?
KP: We counted I think 20 countries that were at the World Champs and America came to the last one and I know they're trying to make sure it doesn't clash this year so we can get more countries coming across but it's disappointing that countries like Australia and South Africa aren't sending riders when we know they have good riders there.
AC: Why do you think that is?
KP: I think last year they had a bit of a blow out to their women's series and they took it away from the Pro Championship - they've brought it back again this year to try and get some numbers back into the field because in '04 they had a full gate but last year it just dived. It's getting stronger again now though so hopefully Motorcycling Australia will support women racing like Motorcycling New Zealand does here.
AC: So New Zealand tends to be more supportive on that front?
KP: Yeah, MNZ is really backing the whole Women's Motocross movement so that's really helping a lot.
AC: Describe for us if you will what it's actually like competing in a Motocross race? It always looks so chaotic from watching on the sidelines; it seems like there are just riders everywhere!
KP: No, it's awesome, I really enjoy it. It all really starts back in the pits and you've got your team all around you supporting you and Kawasaki does a great job for me there too. When I get out on the racetrack I'm most nervous at the starts, and then the gate drops and once you get past that first turn it's all go for it – everyone wants to be in that number one spot so it's all about who's put in the most training, and hopefully I come up with the win at the end of the day.
AC: Do the tracks vary much around the circuit?
KP: Similar tracks but the terrain varies, you've got sand, clay, or just topsoil and that affects how rough the track gets and how physically demanding it is. They try and vary the tracks and put in a few technical sections so that the better riders can filter through to the top.
AC: So what surface do you prefer?
KP: I really prefer loamy surfaces, generally because it gets pretty gnarly into the corners and lots of lines to choose from. New Zealand doesn't really have deep sand but next year when I go across to the Netherlands I'll have to really get into the beach sand over the holidays so that will be cool.
AC: What aspect of Motocross appealed to you in the first place as opposed to other codes?
KP: I think just the technical aspect of it, like there's so many different obstacles you can have, jumps and different corners, you've got berms and ruts and flat turns and they all require different skills, and the more you practise those skills the better you get. It's not like you can just jump on a bike and go full throttle like some of the general public think, it really is a fine art and if you go over and watch the guys in Europe you can see just how good they are. So I think the competitive side and technical aspect of it is what really appeals to me.
AC: You've recently got yourself an injury, how did that come about?
KP: Well I won the World Championship and came home for two weeks and then decided at the last minute that I'd go back and try and challenge for Rounds 3 and 4 of the American Championship. I was only 4 points off the lead when I went back there so I went to Round 3 and I won that round and got the lead back. Then in the first moto at the fourth round I got taken out in a first turn crash and my leg got bent right back and someone rode over it [expression of pain on the face of the interviewer here!]. When I stood up it got stuck there but I got back on my bike and came from dead last to sixth, and everyone thought it was just a bit strained, so I rode the second moto and got third overall for the weekend.
I spent another week in America and I just couldn't walk on it properly at all, but the doctors there had a look at it and said, "It's just a little bit swollen, there's nothing wrong with it."
So I came home and after about a month I competed at the first round of the New Zealand Champs and after that it was really swollen and the physio told me to get it checked out. So I went and had an MRI scan and it turns out I'd torn my ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) in half, had cartilage damage and had a fracture to my tibia and my meniscus was damaged, so they told me to get a surgeon's opinion. I made an appointment with Daryl Hurley's surgeon but it was going to be a month's wait. He told me I could keep riding because I'd managed for a month but then I went down to compete in the Hawkes Bay and it dislocated on the straight without warning, so that was the end of the riding from there.
I managed to get in with another surgeon three weeks earlier and had an ACL reconstruction and I'm recovering from that now.
AC: So what's the time frame before you can compete again?
KP: I'm not allowed to ride for 4-5 months because it takes time for the new ligament to heal. It's been 5 weeks now and it's feeling pretty good, I do lots of cycling and physio to get the movement back , but I think it'll make me a stronger rider in the long run.
AC: What do you normally do to keep fit and what changes have you had to make as a result of your injury?
KP: I usually do a lot of cycling, partly because I enjoy it but also because it's really good for the motocross and aerobic fitness, and I do a lot of weight training in the gym. My physio has set me up a proper plan that works with balancing all the muscles and core strength and that side of things, plus he also gets me running and swimming so it's pretty much just a whole range of sport, and obviously on the bike training as much as possible. I can't run or ride at the moment but I can still use the static cycle.
AC: Competing overseas is a pretty costly experience, who covers those costs for you?
KP: Well last year I had a bit of help from Motorcycling New Zealand and also from New Zealand Motorcycle Trader & News, they helped me out with getting to the Worlds, plus I also had help from Kawasaki, but my biggest funding came from my parents and then myself, running training schools and working part time to try and get a bit of money to cover costs.
AC: Do you have a personal sponsor?
KP: I've got quite a few personal sponsors, but none of them are really huge – I still have to get my parents to cover costs, but the three I just talked about are definitely my biggest contributors outside of family.
AC: What are the long term career prospects of what you are doing – do you have any specific plans?
KP: Well I'd really like to go professional and try and make the most of motocross because it's something I love doing, but I'm also doing a computer graphic design degree next year at Waikato University so I'm keeping all my options open because I don't really know what the future holds for women's racing yet.
AC: There isn't a professional circuit in New Zealand though, is there?
KP: No, you've got to go offshore, most of the professional women are based in the States and racing in the series there.
AC: Tell us a bit about the bike you compete on?
KP: Sure, it's a Kawasaki KX-250F, which is a 250cc 4-stroke, which is the same size bike that Ben Townley won the World Championship on, it's pretty much the smallest bike you can race as a senior, but the Kawasaki is definitely my bike of choice, they've got a wicked bike this year.
AC: What performance aspects are you looking for from a bike?
KP: It depends on rider preference, I like my bikes to have a lot of bottom end power so they're good off the starts and in corners, I try and keep them performing bottom to mid range, I don't really like a lot of top end power. You can get good performance parts for them, like Pro-Circuit Pipes that sponsor me, and Racetech Suspension to keep the bike handling better on the track, it all comes down to your riding style and what you prefer the bike to be doing on the track.
AC: Does anyone use 2-strokes these days?
KP: A few people do but 4-srokes are becoming the more dominant of the two, but there's a lot of juniors who are still on 2-strokes, my brother still has one to practise on. I think they teach you a lot of skills, I'd really like to get one to practise on and hone my throttle skills and things.
AC: You're involved in some coaching of younger riders, how much time of yours does that take up?
KP: Well three days before my knee surgery myself and another woman (Mary Perkins) ran a three day training school down in Rotorua just to try and encourage younger women to come up through the field and improve their skills so that we can have more New Zealanders competing offshore. Last year I ran training schools as well, I just really enjoy giving something back to the younger riders, it's really rewarding when you see the girls at the beginning of the three day camp and then you see them afterwards and they've all just picked up so many new skills and made heaps of new friends, and hopefully that will help keep them in the sport and keep them enjoying it.
AC: So how many women are there competing in the New Zealand circuit?
KP: Competing there's 25, but actually riding there are far more than that, it's just trying to get them competing on the racetrack.
AC: Finally, tell us a bit about Taupo this weekend?
KP: I'm really looking forward to it, it's a huge international event, the Townley family and some of the other families have helped organize it for the Taupo club, and they've managed to get over New Zealand's best like the King brothers and Josh Coppins, but they've also got 10-time World Champion Stefan Everts, which is just amazing to have someone of his calibre in New Zealand, and Joel Smets and a lot of other top international riders there so it's going to be a top event. I think they've sold something like 13 thousand tickets already!
It is an indication of how tough things are for riders and drivers in New Zealand that one so obviously talented, personable and marketable as Katherine still has to struggle for major funding. Whilst she would not have been able to compete to the extent that she has without the help of her current sponsors (Kawasaki, Motorcycle Trader, MR Motorcycles, Pro Circuit, Alpinestars, TAG, RK Motorcycle Chains, Motorcycling NZ, Silkolene, CLM, Scott Goggles, One Industries, OGIO) it amazes me that she has not been snapped up by a big name organization as their new "face." Hopefully it is just a matter of time.
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