When he hits his stride, Altherm JCR Yamaha’s Maximus Purvis is a force to be reckoned with and he roared away from the 2023 senior New Zealand Motocross Championships’ second round with the MX1 red plate.
The Mangakino flyer has been juggling his day job with training but a solid fortnight block on his Yamaha YZ450 between the opening round and the second set of motos at Rotorua yesterday paid dividends.
Purvis summed up Sunday’s near-perfect performance in his debut year in the premier class as “definitely a good day.”
“I had good starts all day and had a good flow. The track was rough and my bike was handling mint. I went 2-1-1 for the overall and have the points lead into the next round.”
Altherm JCR Yamaha Team Manager Josh Coppins was chuffed with Purvis’ form.
“Winning the MX1 class and taking the red plate with a 10-point lead going into final two rounds at the end of March [that are now a double-header at Taupo due to Hawkes Bay being cancelled] equates to an improved performance from Max.”
“He had a really good build up between Balclutha and Rotorua, whereas leading into Balclutha he needed to have 10 days off the bike due to a small injury.”
“Max really rode well and controlled yesterday and it was a pleasure to see him riding at his best. We are very happy for him and proud of his performance. There’s a lot of positives there, but we’ve got to keep focused and he’s got to keep working hard which he will. One thing about Max is he certainly flies under the radar but he does the work!”
Altherm JCR Yamaha’s MX2 rider James Scott secured his second consecutive third place on the podium and was only 1 point shy of second place overall. After qualifying first, he finished runner-up in moto one and two.
“In the third race I went down in the first turn and had to come from last. I managed to finish fourth. It was a good day for my riding and for improvements with the team and the bike,” Oparau’s Scott says.
Coppins described Scott’s charge from the back of the pack as “his best ride yet for us.”
“This is James’ fourth major race with us and he is still finding his feet with the bike and the team. He’s getting better and better. He’s trying hard and we are trying hard and I think we can make some improvements for the final rounds. Our goals are looking for a race win, holeshots and fastest laps. It’s all heading in the right direction,” Coppins says.
The team’s MX125 rider Cole Davies was not competing yesterday, as he was over racing in the United States at round two of the Supercross Futures AMA National Championship. He will return to Altherm JCR Yamaha to compete in the final two rounds in Taupo.
Coppins says he is quietly confident at the championship’s halfway point.
“However, we have certainly got our feet on the ground and will be working hard over these next four weeks. We will do everything we can from a team perspective to have a really strong team by the end of March.”