HM Plant KTM UK’s Natalie Kane is expecting big things in 2013 as it is the first year she will line up for the FIM WMX World Championship uninjured. Currently sitting third in the overall standings for the 2013 WMX World Championship, Natalie Kane says she is feeling better than ever.
There is now a one month break until the second round of the 2013 FIM WMX World Championship which will take place on the weekend of 9 June in Slovenia. In the meantime Kane will be practising on hard pack circuits with her heart set on taking over the championship lead. Although Kane is confident, she remains modest, admitting that her plans could be trampled on at any moment by championship threats Chiara Fontanesi or Meghan Rutledge.
Question: What do you expect from this year?
Kane: I expect to be top three again this year and for sure I want to try and be world champion, but I know it will not be easy to beat Chiara. I look forward to having some fun and battles with her! I think Chiara will be my biggest competitor as well as Steffi Laier, who is also back this year and you can never rule her out, she also won’t be easy to beat. I think I just need some good luck and to continue with good starts and try to win some races. Hopefully this plan will bring me the FIM WMX Motocross World Championship lead.
Q: What is the most interesting thing about the 2013 FIM WMX World Championship calendar?
Kane: The most interesting thing about the 2013 calendar is that there are again a lot of rounds but this year the calendar has been better put together, meaning we don’t have to continue travelling back and forth over ourselves. Another thing is that some rounds will be held with the MX1 and MX2 and this I like a lot!
Q: Which round of the FIM WMX Motocross World Championship are you looking forward to the most?
Kane: I am most looking forward to the round in England as it is the closest round to my home. I will have a lot of family and friends there supporting me and the feeling you get when you can hear the crowd screaming for you is incredible!
Q: What moments or people do you miss the most during the season?
Kane: Because I come from Northern Ireland, which is such a small country, it is very difficult to go back home after every race. Therefore I live in my camper during the season while I am racing… When I am in England I do stay with Alix and Billie Dunlop because their family makes me feel so welcome and as if this is my own home. For this I am very grateful and when I say I miss being at home I mean being with my family and friends, even just being able to watch some English TV and have a bath… Also now, Anne Borchers and her family are helping me out so much too and let me go to their home and treat me like on my own so I am not in the camper anymore, but I do still miss all the little things about being in my own place…
Q: Is there something you would like to share with your followers and fans?
Kane: Well I am 21-year-old motocross racer from Northern Ireland riding for HM Plant KTM UK in the Women’s Motocross World Championship. I finished second in the World Championship last year, and I race a KTM 250SX-F amongst the best female motocross riders in the world. I am currently living in a camper on tour around Europe, going to the races!
Q: How do you feel after the first round? What do you think about newcomers and concurrency at all?
Kane: I am really happy with how the first round of the FIM WMX Motocross World Championship went at Valkenswaard. I didn´t expect to be as close to the leaders as I was because I had not done so much sand riding, I only rode my race bike for the first time on the Tuesday before so I still have a lot of improvements and different things to try. We just sort of got a good base setting on Thursday at a track in Eindhoven and left it for Valkenswaard as it was too late to try anything else. Right now I am feeling better than anytime before as it has been a long time since I was last injured and I have some really good people behind me, so I look forward to the rest of the year!