Prumm bravely takes fourth in Bulgaria
By TMX Archives on 11th May 08
Sevlievo and the Grand Prix of Bulgaria witnessed the opening round of five in the inaugural FIM Women's World Championship and Yamaha Van Beers Racing's Katherine Prumm battled adversity to take fourth overall.
The double World Cup winner was not afforded a fair debut on her YZ250F afterrupturing her right anterior cruciate ligament in the days leading up to theGrand Prix. Putting aside her pain and discomfort it was an uneasy weekend forPrumm who tried to compete but was clearly frustrated by the handicap and beingunable to run at her normally impressive speed.
She made two mistakes in the first moto that saw her having to work hard to makefifth position, recovering from a second lap placing of twelfth. A slower andwetter second race saw her net a decent third.
The 19 year old will nowhave an MRI scan on Tuesday to determine the extent of the damage to her kneejoint and then make a decision as to whether she can fulfil a five monthcampaign of races internationally and in her native New Zealand.
UTagYamaha.com's Megan Lewis grabbed two points on her GP debut. The 15 year old wasnineteenth in Moto2.
As with the MX1-GP and MX2-GP classes, round two forthe ladies will occur next week at Mantova for the Italian GrandPrix.
Katherine Prumm, Van Beers Racing, 4th:
"I am actuallydisappointed with the result. My preparation for the world championship had beenperfect. I was feeling very good on the bike, with my training and making goodlap-times. I knew I was three or four seconds off my usual pace today. It ishard to go out there and not be able to give 100% and not feel 100% and thisshowed in my results. I had pain and swelling and I tried to put it to the backof my mind but it was difficult not to let it affect my riding. The worldchampionship is what I want but if the knee is damaged then we will have to makea decision about it this week."
2008 GP of Bulgaria, Sevlievo 11/05/2008
Race 1 - 11 Laps
Pos.Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Larissa Papenmeier Suzuki GER 26'24.860
2 Livia Lancelot Kawasaki FRA 0'1.760
3 Ashley Fiolek Honda USA 0'8.863
4 Maria Franke Kawasaki GER 0'11.812
5 Katherine Prumm Yamaha NZL 1'24.099
6 Elin Mann KTM SWE 1'34.522
7 Elien De Winter KTM BEL 1'46.280
8 Marianne Veenstra Suzuki NED 1'48.229
9 Marielle De Mol Yamaha NED 1'52.804
10 Anne Borchers Suzuki GER 2'20.564
Race 2 - 11 Laps
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Livia Lancelot Kawasaki FRA 25'59.026
2 Maria Franke Kawasaki GER 0'8.182
3 Katherine Prumm Yamaha NZL 0'25.098
4 Ashley Fiolek Honda USA 1'29.889
5 Elin Mann KTM SWE 1'39.693
6 Sandra Adriansson Suzuki SWE 1'59.825
7 Elien De Winter KTM BEL 2'1.008
8 Marianne Veenstra Suzuki NED 2'3.755
9 Nicky Van Wordragen KTM NED 2'5.178
10 Niki Scott Kawasaki NZL 2'10.404
Rider Standings 11/05/2008
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points
1. Livia Lancelot Kawasaki FRA 47
2. Maria Franke Kawasaki GER 40
3. Ashley Fiolek Honda USA 38
4. Katherine Prumm Yamaha NZL 36
5. Elin Mann KTM SWE 31
6. Elien De Winter KTM BEL 28
7. Marianne Veenstra Suzuki NED 26
8. Larissa Papenmeier Suzuki GER 25
9. Sandra Adriansson Suzuki SWE 15
10. Nicky Van Wordragen KTM NED 12
11. Marielle De Mol Yamaha NED 12
12. Anne Borchers Suzuki GER 11
13. Niki Scott Kawasaki NZL 11
Manufacturer Standings 11/05/2008
Pos. Manufacturer Points
1. Kawasaki 47
2. Suzuki 40
3. Honda 38
4. Yamaha 36
5. KTM 31