KEY POINTS:
Intent on unlocking the mysteries of riding fast on deep, soft sand, Katherine Prumm is utilising some sibling rivalry and an early arrival in Europe to boost her bid to defend her world motocross crown.
Prumm, from Bombay, south of Auckland, goes into the third and final round on September 2 at Lierop in the Netherlands, just one point behind championship leader and arch-rival Livia Lancelot of France.
Lancelot, No 3 from last year's championship, has not won a round but has been consistent this season with two thirds and two seconds from the German and Swedish grand prix each respectively to collect 84 points.
Prumm won round two in Uddevalla (Sweden) with a first and a second in the two heats but her 2007 campaign had got off to a poor start in Germany.
Not at full fitness because of a lingering back injury, the usually precise Prumm compounded her problems by making a few errors at Teutschental (Germany) to return home fourth in the standings with 38 points from second and fourth placings.
"I made some mistakes in the first round and if I hadn't made them, maybe I could have a bit of a nice lead in the championship," Prumm told NZPA.
"But obviously things went as they did ... I've tried to make the best of the situation and come back."
With just seven points separating the top four riders in the championship, Prumm, 19, knows she has to be at her physical peak to retain her position as the best female motocross rider on the planet.
Despite having last week completed a clean sweep of the four-round Australian championship, Prumm says the opposition there was not strong enough to prepare her for the European challenge at Lierop.
"Winning the Australian title will boost my confidence that I am fully fit again - but I haven't been getting as much competition as I will at the world championship, so I need to do a lot of riding between now and September," Prumm said.
She is currently practising almost daily with younger brother Matthew, himself a top motocross prospect, and will leave at the end of the month for Belgium to perfect her deep sand riding technique.
"(As) I haven't been getting as much competition as I will at the world championship, I need to do a lot of riding with the men and faster riders such as my brother to help boost me," Prumm said.
"I ride as much as possible with Matthew - he chases me and I go hard for a couple of laps and then I let him through and try to stay with him - it keeps it fun and keeps it interesting for me.
"He's just turned senior and we'll now be racing against each other so it's going to be a bit of fun," said Prumm who, like Dame Susan Devoy in her squash playing days, competes in both the men's and women's events on the New Zealand calendar.
Because the week before a grand prix is spent mostly relaxing while the bike is prepared, Prumm said she needed to go early to Europe to train.
"I'll stay in Belgium with my (British Molson Kawasaki) team in a flat above their workshop and train with teammates in the sand on the numerous tracks available in Belgium and on the Netherlands border."
Racing in sand is tricky, she says.
"It is really physical and needs a totally different riding style.
"We haven't raced on the sand in the world championships before so this will be something totally new for me.
"The key to riding on sand is just holding on as hard as you can and keeping the momentum going because it is so heavy that as soon as you let off the accelerator, it's like hitting the brakes.
"I won't say it's not my favourite surface but I just haven't had a lot of experience on it.
"When I was learning it the last time in Europe earlier in the year, I enjoyed it once I got the hang of it."
While in Belgium, she hopes to train with fellow New Zealander Josh Coppins, who currently leads the world MX1 championship.
"Hopefully I'll get to train with Josh and get some tips from him - it's the last round of the championships for him too, so he'll be wanting to win there."
Prumm says she is focused on just her own performance rather than worry what everyone else is doing.
She thinks there might be a few upsets in the Netherlands.
"There might be a few surprises from the Belgians and even some of the local riders who have grown up riding in the sand."
- NZPA
