KEY POINTS:
Action got hot and spicy at the battle of Hastings - round two of the New Zealand Motocross Championships in Hawkes Bay at the weekend.
Auckland's Katherine Prumm (Yamaha), as expected, wrapped up the women's title, while Cambridge's Damien King (Yamaha) rode strongly to maintain his position at the top of both the MX1 (open) and 125cc classes.
Rotorua's Michael Phillips (Honda) stretched his lead in the MX2 (250cc) class and Taupo's Cameron Dillon (Honda) kept his lead in the class-within-a-class under-21 division.
Two-time former women's world champion Prumm was too classy for her opponents in this domestic series, finishing the two-round women's title chase unbeaten in her six races, ending her campaign 25 points clear of rival, Palmerston North's Nikki Scott (Kawasaki), while Taupo's Alex Dillon (Honda) was third.
The 20-year-old Prumm said she was thrilled to be fit and healthy again, referring to the series of injuries that had sidelined her in recent months and ruined her bid to defend her world title this season.
"I'm still not 100 per cent now.
"My surgeon gave me the thumbs-up to race again but I was forbidden from racing the men this year," she said.
She finished 12th in the men's MX2 class last season.
Prumm prepares to return to Europe next season, hungrier to reclaim the women's world title and brimming with confidence after her comfortable title win at home.
"Hopefully I'll be back to 100 per cent by December and will be able to race the men at the final two rounds of their championship," Prumm said.
As for Scott, she was the first to congratulate Prumm.
"She's a fantastic rider. No weaknesses that I could see. My championship could have been better but it's hard work trying to keep up with a former world champion."
In the MX1 battles, GP rider Scott Columb (Queenstown, Suzuki) was unstoppable, winning both races at Hastings on Sunday. However, because he'd suffered a crash and a bent bike at the series opener near Rotorua a fortnight earlier, his double wins on Sunday were not enough to put him in title contention - yet.
Columb is now up to third in the championship standings but still has a lot of ground to make up.
King did enough to stay two points clear at the top of the class, with Tauranga's Peter Broxholme (Honda) still breathing down his neck.
King and Broxholme shared second and third placings on Sunday.
That Broxholme lined up to race was remarkable after he'd sustained serious injuries while racing at Taupo a week ago.
"I simply put the shoulder injury out of my mind. I am just grateful I was able to score some good points today and keep my campaign alive."
Phillips was in sublime form as he padded his lead in the MX2 class at Hastings. Phillips won both his races to stretch his lead from one to nine points over Hawera's national 500cc champion Daryl Hurley (Suzuki).
Dual-class rider King also stretched his lead in the 125cc class, out to 14 points over Taupo teenager Dillon, while Gisborne's Matt Hunt (Suzuki) remains third in this class, still six points behind Dillon.
For the men, there are still two rounds left to run, in Timaru and New Plymouth, next month.
