After giving himself and his team a nerve-wracking start to the day, Altherm JCR Yamaha’s MX1 master Maximus Purvis did what he does best and gave it everything for the win at the 2025 Yamaha New Zealand Motocross Championship’s final round on Saturday.
The Rotorua MX Track was run in the reverse direction to when the Rotorua Motorcycle Club hosted the second round of the championship last month. It proved a hit with the riders, although it caught Purvis out early in the day. After charging into the lead of the opening moto, he hit the dirt, crashing in a tricky corner rut in the opening laps, letting MX1 rivals Hamish Harwood and Josiah Natzke past. A determined charge saw Purvis gain back his front-of-pack position, only for a second crash to drop him back to third. Some consultation with Altherm JCR Yamaha Team Manager Josh Coppins saw
Purvis cruise through his second moto to third place again, in an attempt to preserve both his championship lead and the sore ribs he was still nursing. The crowd at the Rotorua track may have expected to see more of the same sedate riding in the third and final moto, where Purvis only needed a fourth place toconsolidate his second MX1 crown since gaining his first in 2023, but this was not the case. To his assembled fans and supporters’ delight, Purvis did the opposite and charged out of the gates, taking the holeshot and roaring away from the entire field to an unchallenged victory.
Purvis’ game plan was simple. The supremely talented 24-year-old wanted to end his season on a high and that’s exactly what he did. “I got a good start in that last one and stayed on the bike this time. Yeah, it definitely feels good to finish the season with a win. I’m going to head to Aussie this week and try to get [some wins] over there,” he says. Commentator Neil Ritchie asked if he thought he could kick some Aussie butt and Purvis’ replied: “I’ll definitely have a go at it.” He will be based in Australia from early this week, where he is contracted to ride four rounds of the Australian Motocross Championship for the CDR Yamaha Monster Energy Team.
Later at prizegiving, Purvis thanked the Altherm JCR Yamaha team, his meticulous mechanic Tamas Toth and his supporters. Surrounded by family, friends and his team, he enjoyed celebrating his huge achievement. Altherm JCR Yamaha’s Team Manager Josh Coppins says it was “great to wrap up the MX1 title with Maximus. It was well deserved, and it wasn’t as easy as it looked, with multiple injury challenges throughout his campaign. As he so often does, Maximus steps up to the mark and delivers for us. We are very thankful for his efforts.”
Coppins adds that he appreciates that Purvis is a “unique character,” which shone through in the third and final moto. “He didn’t need to win but he wasn’t happy with his performances of late due to the injury that he’s been carrying. He went out and dominated that final moto, which just goes to show his character. We can’t thank him enough and his family for all their efforts. We wish him all the best in Australia and hopefully he can show the Aussie riders what he’s capable of and it’s the start of an exciting new adventure for him.”
Coppins credited the Rotorua Motorcycle Club for doing double duties this season, hosting the second and then final round of the championship. “The event itself went off really well. We’ve been fortunate this season to have had great weather and great tracks. Shout out has to go to MNZ and to Stu and Sonia for their efforts. Media improvement of the series has seen quite a few positives which is exciting, so thanks for their efforts too.”
The Altherm JCR Yamaha team have had a huge workload this season, including having Japanese guests with them from Yamaha Motor Corporation for the last eight weeks and competing in five races around the country. They have managed the unfortunate knee injury for their MX2 rider James Scott after the second Yamaha New Zealand Motocross Championship round. “We wish James all the best for his knee surgery on Tuesday and hope he has a good recovery. Then we look forward to having him back on the team once he’s finished his rehabilitation,” Coppins says.
Talented youngster Levi Townley came into the team and dominated the MX125 races he was able to contest before leaving for the European EMX Championship halfway through the New Zealand series. “The effort and workload that it took to put him in the very best position we could for Europe was immense from the whole crew. Needless to say, we are looking forward to a quick break and a regroup before we start to plan for the future.” Now the senior motocross racing is over for the season, the focus shifts to the Altherm activations, with the final bLUcRU Kids Camp this weekend and then the Junior Nationals in Harrisville, Pukekohe, in April. The New Zealand Motocross Championship will start up again at an earlier date next season, in November, with two back-to-back weekends at South Island venues, followed by two rounds in the North Island in February 2026. “Thank you to everyone who has supported us this season. We appreciate our riders, their sponsors, the media, and everyone who supports us and helps us to be where we are today,” Coppins signs off. *Altherm JCR Yamaha’s youngest international export Levi Townley had his first EMX race at the MXGP of Castilla la Mancha on Saturday night. Racing with the #26 on his bike, Townley got the holeshot and rode to 11th in some gnarly, muddy conditions. In his second race Townley finished 18th after sitting in 6th for the majority of the race. He is in 15th overall after the first EMX round.
NZMX CHAMPIONSHIP OVERALL RESULTS:
MX1
1st Maximus Purvis (YZ450) – 275
2nd Hamish Harwood – 260
3rd Josiah Natzke – 257
MX2
1st Madoc Dixon – 235
2nd Cobie Bourke – 226
3rd Hayden Smith – 207
4th Flynn Watts (YZ250F) – 199
8th Junya Tanaka (YZ250F) – 129
9th James Scott (YZ250F) – 112 *James missed rounds three and four
13th Wills Harvey (YZ250F) – 98
14th Souya Nakajima (YZ250F) – 96 *Souya missed round four
15th Cody Griffiths (YZ250F) – 83
16th Nixon Parkes (YZ250F) – 69
20th Carlin Hedley (YZ250F) – 42
26th Tyler Cooksley (YZ250F) – 17
28th James Rountree (YZ250F) – 3
MX125
1st Hayden Draper – 270
2nd Jack Ellingham (YZ125) – 249
3rd Delton Manson – 220
4th Ben Costello (YZ125) – 161
5th Levi Townley (YZ125) – 143 *Levi missed rounds three and four
Under 19
1st Flynn Watts (YZ250F) – 272
2nd Hayden Draper – 225
3rd Wills Harvey (YZ250F) – 223
4th Cody Griffiths (YZ250F) – 220
5th Nixon Parkes (YZ250F) – 192
Women’s
1st Karaitiana Horne – 282
2nd Mikayla Griffiths (YZ250F) – 236
3rd Amie Roberts (YZ250F) – 222
MX3
1st Travis Taylor – 297
2nd Mitchel Gleeson – 230
3rd Brandon Hoskins – 174
*Words by Catherine Pattison