Motorsport: US challenge stalls over bomb scare

Katherine Prumm in action for Kawasaki MX Motocross.

It took an act of terror to put the brakes on New Zealand's Katherine Prumm.

The 18-year-old Kawasaki rider from Bombay was top of the standings in the United States women's motocross championships before the fifth round in Binghamton, New York, but her campaign was ruined by the threat of bombs on planes.

Tightened security upset her travel plans and she was unable to get to the US in time for her race.

The women's world champion was two points clear of Honda rider Jessica Patterson at the top of the table with just two rounds remaining, but cannot now complete her mission.

Prumm won the world title in Sweden last month adding to her Australian and New Zealand ones.

But the latest development has robbed her of any chance to also take the American crown.

Her plan for 2006 was to compete in just the first two rounds of the US series, but her winning form took her back for the third and fourth rounds.

Motocross had a huge following in New Zealand, but suffered from a lack of significant funding from the recognised sports bodies because it was not a mainstream sport, said Prumm.

"The recent airline scares have resulted in changes to the planned schedules, which has reduced and changed the choices available for flights, and ultimately pushed the prices up and made my schedule very tight."

Including insurance, Prumm's trips to the final two rounds of the US nationals had ballooned to more than $20,000.

But she remains philosophical about missing the race, looking instead to the future.

"I am still only 18 years old and I will have another opportunity next season," she said.

"I was going to America for only two rounds this year, to see what the competition was like, and I was able to go back and compete in four rounds altogether.

"I am now wiser about the costs and the distances for travel in the States and I hope that next year I will be able to complete a full season," she said.

"The women's world championships in Europe in 2007 is also being held over more rounds, so there will be more travel for this as well."