Altherm JCR Yamaha’s Purvis wins the national MX1 championship in his debut season

Altherm JCR Yamaha Media Statement
27.03.23

 

Title image : 2023 Altherm JCR Yamaha Team

The Altherm JCR Yamaha team (from left to right) includes assistant Joe Davis, Luke Henry
(Cole’s mechanic), Cole Davies, Josh Coppins, Maximus Purvis, Tamas Toth (Max’s
mechanic), James Scott and Tsuyoshi Watanabe (James’ mechanic).

In only his first season racing a Yamaha YZ450 in the top tier MX1 class, Altherm JCR Yamaha’s Maximus Purvis has convincingly won the New Zealand Motocross Championship.

Altherm JCR Yamaha’s Maximus Purvis claimed victory in his debut season in the MX1 class on Sunday.

The 22-year-old Mangakino-based rider held the lead going into the weekend’s double header round in Taupo and simply dominated, as he steadily extended his points lead over the five races to win by 36 points.

Purvis timed his charge to victory superbly and says the two rounds went perfectly. 

“I had some good races on the first day and kept my points gap well into the second day and came away with the championship. It definitely feels awesome to win my first MX1 championship. I worked hard all year and it paid off in the end,” he says.

His Altherm JCR Yamaha Team Manager Josh Coppins was thrilled to see Purvis earn his well deserved title.

“Max only dropped to second in one of his five motos this weekend and ended up winning the MX1 championship convincingly. It was a very well controlled championship for him,” he says.

Coppins added that it was a proud moment for the team to witness Purvis backing up Australian Kirk Gibbs’ MX1 win for Altherm JCR Yamaha, back when the motocross nationals was last held in 2021. That year Purvis was victorious in the MX2 class.

Despite missing a round due to international commitments, Altherm JCR Yamaha's MX125 rider Cole Davies was fourth overall.

“People forget Max is effectively a rookie in this class. He moved up after winning the MX2 championship but then Covid cancelled the 2022 season. This was his first year in MX1, so that is pretty impressive for him.”

Oparau’s James Scott took over the team’s MX2 spot this season after Brodie Connolly embarked on an international opportunity. Scott has been learning the ropes and increasingly getting the best out of his Yamaha YZ250F to finish third overall. 

James Scott has capped off his first season riding in the MX2 class for the Altherm JCR Yamaha team with a third place overall.

Coppins says the focus has always been on next season for Scott and he is pleased with the gains he has made throughout 2023.

Scott says that he felt that he didn’t have good flow on the first day but made amends on the second.

“Day two was much better. I qualified first, then holeshot the first moto and won that. I was doing the same in the second moto but made a small mistake and got passed by two riders.”

“I made good improvements over the weekend and the whole nationals. I’m looking forward to next year and doing some solid work before next season,” he wraps up.

Cole Davies, of Waitoki, has been mixing his MX125 racing with an international campaign in the Supercross Futures AMA National Championship. Despite winning both races on Sunday to claim the number one trophy for the fourth and final round, missing the second round meant he was fourth for the championship.

“He was over in the United States racing while round two was on here, so this season was all about Cole gaining experience and exposure. It has been a little bit hard for him going between two series - from a 4-stroke 250 overseas, to a 125 bike here - so that adjustment has been tricky. He has done well though,” Coppins says.

 

“We will take away a lot of positives despite a disrupted MX2 and MX125 campaign, with Brodie heading away mid season and Cole missing a round. As we’ve always said however, we are trying to develop riders for the future and sometimes that means forfeiting championships or potential championships in NZ. We still believe we have done the right thing.”

All three Altherm JCR riders will head away from New Zealand in the coming weeks to broaden their skill sets. 

Purvis flies to Australia next week and will contest the remaining rounds of the Australian Motocross Championship with WBR Yamaha.

Davies departs for California in a few days for round three of Supercross Futures in Arlington, Texas.

“James will do some more testing and then he will go to Australia in May to contest three rounds of the Australian championship. We are keen to keep him progressing. He may do more rounds depending on what Yamaha Motor Australia’s requirements are,” Coppins says.

While the Altherm JCR Yamaha team’s focus now turns to activations, they started this Sunday with 18 YZ65 Cup riders turning up to the Taupo track. They had entered via their local Yamaha dealerships and got to “race on the same track as the big boys,” Coppins says.

“They did a JCR truck tour and met the riders in what was a really successful event for the team.”

“From a JCR sense that’s the end of senior racing for us, although we have the junior nationals coming up over April 14-16 for Cole in Invercargill.

Altherm JCR Yamaha will hold a bLUcRU Kids Camp in Gore this weekend and another in the Waikato region over April 21 to 23. Then the school visits, MX Masterclass and also Ride the Road activations will take place until mid-May.

Coppins says this year’s motocross championship has been a big effort from the whole team, sponsors and riders.

“I’d like to thank everyone involved in our successful 2022/23 season and we look forward to planning for next year already,” Coppins concludes.

 

CAPTIONS  CREDIT: Phil Smith (CLMintie)

R3 NZMX RESULTS:

 

MX1

1^st Maximus Purvis (YZ450) – 72

2^nd Hamish Harwood – 61

3^rd Brad Groombridge – 55

 

MX2

1^st Cody Cooper – 70

2^nd Hayden Smith – 63

3^rd James Scott (YZ250F) – 55

 

MX125

1^st Hamish Harwood – 72

2^nd Cole Davies (YZ125) – 67

3^rd Cody Griffiths (YZ125) – 58

 

MX3

1^st Callum Dudson – 69

2^nd Jamie Bennett – 62

3^rd Darren Capill (YZ450) – 62

 

 

 

Senior Womens

1^st Amie Roberts (YZ250F)– 72

2^nd Roma Edwards – 69

3^rd Taylar Rampton – 60

 

 

R4 NZMX RESULTS:

 

MX1

1^st Maximus Purvis (YZ450) – 50

2^nd Brad Groombridge – 42  

3^rd Michael Kratzer – 38  

 

MX2

1^st Hayden Smith – 45

2^nd James Scott (YZ250F) – 45

3^rd Madoc Dixon – 40

 

MX125

1^st Cole Davies (YZ125) – 50

2^nd Cody Griffiths (YZ125) – 40

3^rd Logan Denize – 40

 

MX3

1^st Preeda Boon (YZ250F) – 45

2^nd Thomas Robinson – 45

3^rd Callum Dudson – 44

 

Senior Womens

1^st Roma Edwards – 50

2^nd Amie Roberts (YZ250F) – 44

3^rd Taylar Rampton – 40

 

YZ65 Cup

1^st Jaggar Townley (YZ65) – 50

2^nd Levi Rodgers (YZ65) – 44

3^rd Colton Whibley (YZ65) – 40

 

 

OVERALL NZMX CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS:

 

MX1

1^st Maximus Purvis (YZ450) – 261

2^nd Hamish Harwood – 225

3^rd Cody Cooper – 210

 

MX2

1^st Cody Cooper – 231

2^nd Hayden Smith – 227

3^rd James Scott (YZ250F) – 220

 

MX125

1^st Hamish Harwood – 244

2^nd Cody Griffiths (YZ125) – 216

3^rd Logan Denize – 212

4^th Cole Davies (YZ125) – 183 *missed round two due to SX Futures in USA