fmxer_girl
24th May 2006, 06:07 PM
On Friday night I got to go to Roseville cycle centre and do an autograph signing session with Team Green Riders; James Stewart, Grant Langston, Ryan Villipoto, Chris Gosellaar, Troy Adams, Tania Satchwell, Lindsey Scheltema, Elisabeth Bash and also two non-green riders Nick Wey and Ricky Carmichael. It was so awesome to be a part of as motocross is pretty big over here and so many fans turn up and want to see all the riders and its an hour solid of signing. I really enjoyed it and got all the team green riders autographs and managed to get my photo taken with James which was so cool (I will email as soon as I have it from Craig).
On Saturday was my race at Hangtown. It’s a great track with heaps of double-jumps, whoops sections and other obstacles. Some of the jumps looked a little scary when I walked the track but I managed to do all the big ones by the 3rd lap of practice. The only jump I hadn’t got tapped yet was a downhill double but I got it later in the day.
Before my first moto I went and watched the pros practice and Carmichael was sooooo fast around the circuit, pulling whips and throwing the bike into the turns as though it didn’t weigh anything. It was amazing! There was also some awesome battling going on with Ryan Villipoto, Mike Alessi, and Brett Metcalfe. These guys push so hard and the crowd goes wild when they all battle together.
Moto 1: I had first gate pick this week as I was leading in points and managed to get a really good jump out of the gate. I was in third at the second turn and had a good square-off line for the next turn and my Pro-Circuit Kawasaki just pulled so well up the hill that I jumped into first on the Uphill jump. I rode hard and felt really good for 3 laps and then the dreaded arm pump kicked in and I really had to work hard to keep holding onto the bars. I rode smooth through the rough braking bumps and ruts and managed to win comfortably over Patterson. My Kawasaki KX250f was awesome this week and looked so trick with all the Pro Circuit parts on it!!!
Moto 2: I again had first gate pick from moto 1 and took the same gate as before. I didn’t get as good a jump as before but was in 5th or 6th at turn 2. Disaster struck at turn 3 when Sarah Whitmore crashed in front of me and I hit the back of her bike. I stayed on though and had to go off the end of the berm and when I had got going again I was in 18th place. I worked hard though and made my way though the field. By the end of lap 3 I had made my way passed all the top riders, like Tarah Geiger, Tania Satchwell, and Alisa Nix. I was chasing down Jessica Patterson who had gained a big lead from my misfortune and I just kept trying to ride smooth and fast as the track rutted up pretty bad. With three laps to go I began coming through lap riders and there was a big 85ft uphill double that only 5 girls were jumping and the rest of the field had been told to hold their lines and keep right. I came up on a lapper who had gone up the jump on the right hand side and so I jumped on the very left of the jump. She changed her line as she rolled up the landing and I landed right in to the side of her handlebars and smashed my hand on her handlebars which caused the 4th and 5th metacarpals in my right hand to snap in half and become 100% displaced (in simple terms they no longer join) as we hit and had a huge crash. I was also bruised up on the left side of my body but I got back up and picked my bike up and finished the race. I tried to ride fast and get up to speed but I could hardly hold on and when I tried a jump I was in so much pain. I finished the race in 17th place and all the crowd was cheering me on as I made my way around the track.
I was absolutely gutted by what had happened as it was completely beyond my control and caused by another rider’s mistake. When I took my glove off there was a huge lump on my hand and I knew for sure it was broken. I later learned that I would have to have surgery on my hand as the bones are badly broken and my end two fingers kept tingling as well as my hand swelling p to 3 times the size of the other hand. On Sunday I didn’t get to watch James or Ricky but drove back with Reid to Los Angeles and then to his house in Lake Elsinore where my dad and I stayed so that we could go to the doctor’s today. We got to the Medical Centre at 9am and the reception is filled with Jerseys of all the rider’s that Dr Rieman (my doctor) and Dr Alexander have fixed. It’s amazing and scary at the same time; there are shirt from Chad Reed, Grant Langston, Andrew Short, Mike Metzger, Nate Adams, Brian Deegan (who actually came there for treatment after me), Nathan Ramsey and sooo many more. Dr Rieman was great and he said that I needed to have surgery tomorrow (Tuesday) at 12.30pm (Wednesday 7.30am NZ time).
I checked out the points though and I am currently second in the championship and only 4 points behind Jessica Patterson and there are 4 rounds to go. Who knows what will happen but I would really like to be back here mid July to race again. I have met a lot of really cool people over here and made some good friends who I’d like to thank for all of their help.
I would like to say a huge thank you to New Zealand Motorcycle Trader and News for all of their support, Kawasaki NZ and Kawasaki USA for all of their support and help in getting me a bike organized and looking after me on the track. A special thanks to Mike Wilkins, Mike Ramsey, Reid, Dave and Jeff who are all part of the Kawy crew and especially Dave and Jeff for taking care of the bike. I’d also like to thank Pro Circuit for tricking out my bike during the week….. The bike looked so TRICK and went great too! Thanks to Ludo from One Industries for helping me out over here and making my time here all the more enjoyable. Thanks to Alpinestars, Scott Goggles for their support over here and all of my other sponsors for their on going support. Also thanks to Craig Brown and Michelle who came over to Sacramento to support me and although we did not get the day win I have to thank you for all your help and hope to bring many more wins to Kawasaki. My friends for all their support and last but not least I have to thank my mum and dad for their huge support and backing and without them this would not be possible as well as my brother Matthew for always keeping me in good spirits.
Thanks
Katherine "Budgie" Prumm
On Saturday was my race at Hangtown. It’s a great track with heaps of double-jumps, whoops sections and other obstacles. Some of the jumps looked a little scary when I walked the track but I managed to do all the big ones by the 3rd lap of practice. The only jump I hadn’t got tapped yet was a downhill double but I got it later in the day.
Before my first moto I went and watched the pros practice and Carmichael was sooooo fast around the circuit, pulling whips and throwing the bike into the turns as though it didn’t weigh anything. It was amazing! There was also some awesome battling going on with Ryan Villipoto, Mike Alessi, and Brett Metcalfe. These guys push so hard and the crowd goes wild when they all battle together.
Moto 1: I had first gate pick this week as I was leading in points and managed to get a really good jump out of the gate. I was in third at the second turn and had a good square-off line for the next turn and my Pro-Circuit Kawasaki just pulled so well up the hill that I jumped into first on the Uphill jump. I rode hard and felt really good for 3 laps and then the dreaded arm pump kicked in and I really had to work hard to keep holding onto the bars. I rode smooth through the rough braking bumps and ruts and managed to win comfortably over Patterson. My Kawasaki KX250f was awesome this week and looked so trick with all the Pro Circuit parts on it!!!
Moto 2: I again had first gate pick from moto 1 and took the same gate as before. I didn’t get as good a jump as before but was in 5th or 6th at turn 2. Disaster struck at turn 3 when Sarah Whitmore crashed in front of me and I hit the back of her bike. I stayed on though and had to go off the end of the berm and when I had got going again I was in 18th place. I worked hard though and made my way though the field. By the end of lap 3 I had made my way passed all the top riders, like Tarah Geiger, Tania Satchwell, and Alisa Nix. I was chasing down Jessica Patterson who had gained a big lead from my misfortune and I just kept trying to ride smooth and fast as the track rutted up pretty bad. With three laps to go I began coming through lap riders and there was a big 85ft uphill double that only 5 girls were jumping and the rest of the field had been told to hold their lines and keep right. I came up on a lapper who had gone up the jump on the right hand side and so I jumped on the very left of the jump. She changed her line as she rolled up the landing and I landed right in to the side of her handlebars and smashed my hand on her handlebars which caused the 4th and 5th metacarpals in my right hand to snap in half and become 100% displaced (in simple terms they no longer join) as we hit and had a huge crash. I was also bruised up on the left side of my body but I got back up and picked my bike up and finished the race. I tried to ride fast and get up to speed but I could hardly hold on and when I tried a jump I was in so much pain. I finished the race in 17th place and all the crowd was cheering me on as I made my way around the track.
I was absolutely gutted by what had happened as it was completely beyond my control and caused by another rider’s mistake. When I took my glove off there was a huge lump on my hand and I knew for sure it was broken. I later learned that I would have to have surgery on my hand as the bones are badly broken and my end two fingers kept tingling as well as my hand swelling p to 3 times the size of the other hand. On Sunday I didn’t get to watch James or Ricky but drove back with Reid to Los Angeles and then to his house in Lake Elsinore where my dad and I stayed so that we could go to the doctor’s today. We got to the Medical Centre at 9am and the reception is filled with Jerseys of all the rider’s that Dr Rieman (my doctor) and Dr Alexander have fixed. It’s amazing and scary at the same time; there are shirt from Chad Reed, Grant Langston, Andrew Short, Mike Metzger, Nate Adams, Brian Deegan (who actually came there for treatment after me), Nathan Ramsey and sooo many more. Dr Rieman was great and he said that I needed to have surgery tomorrow (Tuesday) at 12.30pm (Wednesday 7.30am NZ time).
I checked out the points though and I am currently second in the championship and only 4 points behind Jessica Patterson and there are 4 rounds to go. Who knows what will happen but I would really like to be back here mid July to race again. I have met a lot of really cool people over here and made some good friends who I’d like to thank for all of their help.
I would like to say a huge thank you to New Zealand Motorcycle Trader and News for all of their support, Kawasaki NZ and Kawasaki USA for all of their support and help in getting me a bike organized and looking after me on the track. A special thanks to Mike Wilkins, Mike Ramsey, Reid, Dave and Jeff who are all part of the Kawy crew and especially Dave and Jeff for taking care of the bike. I’d also like to thank Pro Circuit for tricking out my bike during the week….. The bike looked so TRICK and went great too! Thanks to Ludo from One Industries for helping me out over here and making my time here all the more enjoyable. Thanks to Alpinestars, Scott Goggles for their support over here and all of my other sponsors for their on going support. Also thanks to Craig Brown and Michelle who came over to Sacramento to support me and although we did not get the day win I have to thank you for all your help and hope to bring many more wins to Kawasaki. My friends for all their support and last but not least I have to thank my mum and dad for their huge support and backing and without them this would not be possible as well as my brother Matthew for always keeping me in good spirits.
Thanks
Katherine "Budgie" Prumm