"Today we gave everything we had in the tank. We were looking to find something else and we delivered, but we have to hunt for more."
The Kiwis slipped back 0.078s after the lead out effort of Mitchell, Webster pulled them back in front by 0.001s with the fastest second lap of the meet before Dawkins dropped 0.251s bringing them home.
The trio's average speed was 62.210km/h which, in the context of the competition, made for a stirring performance.
"We were up through the 500m and we know we can improve our laps," Webster said.
"It was more a coincidence the Germans were on the other side of the track. We were racing ourselves. It was good to execute a tidy ride with smooth technical changeovers and everyone dialed in together.
"We'll sit down together before the final and think about straightening some of our lines and riding a bit tighter to find the extra speed to win gold."
The result is a pleasant contrast to the Cali meet in October when, in an open air velodrome, Dawkins was unable draft onto the wheel of Webster in front. Germany went on to win overall.
Much of the athlete talk yesterday was that the track rode "heavy", a reference to a lack of heat in the boards from the internal atmosphere which can help with speed.
"Hotter is better," Mitchell said. "A big crowd could help warm the place up too, there were a few spare seats floating around."
The Australian Team Jayco AIS trade team were third with Britain, Russia, the Netherlands, France and Poland rounding out the top eight.
In the women's discipline New Zealand's Katie Schofield led out Natasha Hansen on their way to setting the eighth fastest 33.987s. China topped qualification in 32.711s.
