- New Zealand’s national motocross championship prepares for its 75th edition.
- Tokoroa’s Amisfield opens the four-round series this Saturday, November 14.
- Watch MNZ’s video following MX1 rivals Maximus Purvis and Josiah Natzke before the opening round.
From scrambling on British singles to producing world champions, New Zealand motocross has packed plenty into its national championship history. This weekend, another generation gets its turn as the 75th edition begins in Tokoroa.
A Velocette probably isn’t the first motorcycle that comes to mind when someone mentions the New Zealand Motocross Championship. But long before lightweight Japanese racers and European factory machinery filled the start gates, that was the badge on the winning bike.
In 1951, Martick won the inaugural New Zealand Scrambles Championship aboard a Velocette. This Saturday, November 14, the sport’s national championship begins its 75th edition at Amisfield in Tokoroa.
The bikes, equipment and scale of the racing have changed enormously. The appeal of watching the country’s best riders fight over the same piece of dirt remains pretty straightforward.
And Amisfield has seen more than its share of those fights.
When motocross was scrambling
The early championship looked quite different from today’s four-round series.
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Classes could be decided at separate meetings, in different parts of the country and at different times of the season. British and European machinery dominated, and riders were often less specialised than their modern counterparts.
MNZ’s historical records include familiar road-racing names such as Rod Coleman, Hugh Anderson and Kim Newcombe among the scrambling results. Speedway riders appeared too. A quick rider was a quick rider, even if the surface and motorcycle changed.
The machinery began to shift towards the end of the 1960s. In the 1969–70 season, Laurie Love won the national 350cc scrambling title on a Suzuki, recorded in MNZ’s history as the first New Zealand scrambling championship won on a Japanese machine.
The name was changing as well. Tim Gibbes had used “Moto Cross” for his international series during the 1960s, before the national sport adopted motocross terminology in 1973. It was the beginning of a very different era.
From local titles to the world stage
For Kiwi fans, the championship’s significance goes well beyond the names engraved on its trophies. It belongs to a wider racing culture that has repeatedly produced riders capable of taking on much larger nations.
Shayne King’s progression offers a particularly clear connection. He won the national junior 125cc championship in 1985–86, then took the senior 125cc title the following season. In 1996, he became New Zealand’s first motocross world champion by winning the 500cc crown.
King later returned to win further New Zealand titles, including the 250cc and 500cc championships in 2005.
Ben Townley’s story began with junior success here before he headed to Europe as a teenager. His 2004 MX2 world championship and 2007 American Supercross Lites East title added further weight to New Zealand’s reputation.
Alongside them, Darryll King and Josh Coppins became leading international contenders, while Courtney Duncan’s four Women’s Motocross World Championship titles have given another generation a Kiwi rider to look up to.
These are different careers, across different eras. Together, they show why a national meeting in a small country can be worth watching closely.
Familiar ground for a new generation
Amisfield is a fitting place to begin this milestone edition.
The South Waikato Motorcycle Club’s circuit hosted battles involving Darryll and Shayne King and local rider Daryl Atkins through the late 1980s and early 1990s. Its combination of jumps, fast sections and roughening ground now awaits the next group chasing national honours.
“New Zealand has a knack of producing exceptional riders,” says MNZ president Mac McLeod.
He points to former champions helping emerging racers as an important part of the sport’s future.
“Having those riders giving back to the sport is setting us up for a bright future here in New Zealand.”
— Mac McLeod
That connection matters. Experience gained overseas can find its way back into local paddocks, helping younger riders prepare for challenges their mentors have already faced. The clubs provide the other essential part of the equation: somewhere to race, people to run the meetings and tracks that ask different questions of the riders.
After Amisfield, the championship moves to Patetonga on November 28. Its red clay and deepening ruts promise a different test before the series takes a summer break. Racing resumes at Rockworkz in Taranaki on February 20, with the finale at Rotorua’s Horohoro Bluffs on February 27.
Watch: the next chapter starts here
For all the history surrounding this season, the riders lining up on Saturday have a more immediate concern: getting to the first corner ahead of everyone else.
Defending MX1 champion Maximus Purvis arrives with strong pre-season form, while Honda challenger Josiah Natzke is looking to improve on last season’s runner-up finish.
Watch it below, then head to Amisfield on Saturday to see the next chapter unfold.
The opening round takes place at Amisfield Motocross Park, 53 Moffat Road, Tokoroa, on Saturday, November 14. Spectator gates open at 8am.
Source: MNZ
