Yamaha Clean Sweep: Purvis and Draper Crowned NZ Motocross Champions

• Yamaha Dominates NZMX Finale – Altherm JCR Yamaha riders topped both MX1 and MX2 championships at the final round in Rotorua.
• Purvis Defends MX1 Crown – Maximus Purvis secured the MX1 title with a commanding 49-point margin.
• Draper Wins Tight MX2 Battle – Sixteen-year-old Hayden Draper edged teammate James Scott to claim the MX2 championship.

The Altherm JCR Yamaha team capped off the Yamaha Motor New Zealand Motocross Championship with MX1 and MX2 titles, as Maximus Purvis and Hayden Draper sealed championship victories at the Rotorua finale.

The Altherm JCR Yamaha team capped off a remarkable campaign at the final round of the Yamaha Motor New Zealand Motocross Championship in Rotorua, with the squad dominating the top of the MX1 and MX2 championships.

The four-round national series concluded on Saturday with standout performances from the team’s riders, highlighted by Maximus Purvis defending the MX1 crown and 16-year-old Hayden Draper claiming the MX2 title after an intense season-long battle with teammate James Scott.

Team manager Josh Coppins said the result was a proud moment for the entire team.

“We have done it in the past – winning both MX1 and MX2 – but to go 1-2 with James second overall in MX2 was pretty special. James had a real boost to finish up first for the final round and Hayden second for the day and the two of them either first or second in all three motos, was a real highlight for our MX2 boys.”

Rotorua’s final round proved challenging after heavy rain hit the circuit the night before racing, leaving riders to deal with difficult track conditions early in the day.

“Rotorua was a pretty dominating performance for the team in general. Everyone worked really hard and no stone was unturned in trying to achieve the top results. We really put a lot of effort in last week and we were all based in the North Island. It was a pretty quiet week in terms of bike time but we were focusing on all the detail for trying to execute the best weekend we could. It definitely worked out well for us.”

Coppins also explained how the rain affected racing conditions.

“The track was smashed by rain and started off very heavy and wet, then turned super challenging. It got better and came right as the day went on, after being hard to pass on in the first motos.”

In the MX1 class, Purvis delivered another dominant performance to secure the championship, finishing the season with a commanding 49-point advantage over Josiah Natzke.

“Maximus was dominant again, although he will be disappointed he didn’t get a clean sweep of wins. Moto 1, he made a little mistake at the start and Kyle Webster from Australia got by him. Maximus battled and battled and battled to try and pass him back but there were not many options. Kyle was very fast as well and took a well-deserved win.”

Coppins praised Purvis’ season-long form.

“It’s been an amazing championship for Maximus. He’s riding exceptionally well. He’s fit and focused and fast. He likes having a challenge and Kyle coming over made him dig deep and show his full potential. I’m super happy for him.”

Purvis himself was pleased with the way the season wrapped up.

“finished the season off with winning the championship and winning the round. I felt pretty good on the bike all day and was pretty happy with my riding apart from dropping the bike in the first race,” he says.

Defending the title again was especially satisfying for the Yamaha rider.

Defending his MX1 Championship was a “good feeling and I’m happy as to get the job done again for Josh and the team.”

Next up for Purvis is a trip across the Tasman, where he will compete in off-road cross-country racing in Australia with AJ Roberts and the ShopYamaha Off Road team.

Meanwhile, the MX2 championship battle came down to the wire between teammates Hayden Draper and James Scott, with Draper ultimately claiming the title by eight points.

Coppins said the battle between the two riders was one of the highlights of the season.

“The MX2 championship went down to the wire between our two guys. All the other riders fell away as the championship rolled on.”

Draper secured the title with strong consistency at the final round, finishing with 1-2-2 moto results.

Rotorua was “a great round for me, wrapping up the championship with 1-2-2 moto scores. I’m stoked with my season and the whole team. I couldn’t have done it without them. Winning the championship is just starting to kick in now. I’m so stoked.”

Scott also finished the season strongly, taking the overall victory at the final round after winning two of the motos.

“The next two motos I didn’t get great starts but made some good passes in the first two laps and got myself in a good position at the start of the races. I was able to work my way into the lead and win them both,” he says.

“I got the overall for the day which was a good feeling after what feels like quite a hard season. I was really happy to finish it off and get myself and the team a round win.”

Reflecting on the championship campaign, Coppins said the team effort behind the scenes had been enormous.

“I can sign off the 2026 championship really happy with the guys and we’ve all worked exceptionally hard. Having the three Japanese riders here for six weeks has been great and kept the team working at capacity.”

“Thanks to all the riders, our mechanics, our staff, our media management team, our team sponsors, our riders’ families and friends, our team supporters and everyone that has been a part of assisting us obtain these championships.”

“It has been a massive season, and we are looking forward to a bit of downtime before getting preparations in place for 2026/27. We wish our riders who are heading overseas this winter the best of luck and thank Yamaha Motor Australia for their support.”

With both MX1 and MX2 titles secured, the Altherm JCR Yamaha squad ends the 2026 championship as the dominant force in New Zealand motocross.

NZMX CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS – ROUND FOUR:

MX1

1^st Maximus Purvis (YZ450) – 72

2^nd Kyle Webster – 69

3^rd Josiah Natzke – 58

6^th Kainosuke Oshiro (YZ450) – 42

MX2

1^st James Scott (YZ250) – 72 

2^nd Hayden Draper (YZ250F) – 69

3^rd Madoc Dixon – 49  

5^th Cody Griffiths (YZ250F) – 46

10^th Flynn Watts (YZ250F) – 31 

11^th Junya Tanaka (YZ250F) – 29

24^th Aoi Takagi (YZ250F) – 0.146

MX125

1^st Phoenix van Dusschoten – 72

2^nd Carson Carroll (YZ125) – 69 

3^rd Arama Te Whetu – 60

MX3 Cup

1^st Josh De Reus (YZ450) – 75

2^nd Ryan Mason – 60

3^rd Jackson Ward – 58

MXW

1^st Courtney Duncan – 75 

2^nd Karaitiana Horne – 66

2^nd Amie Roberts (YZ250F) – 58

Yamaha MX85 Cup

1^st Henry Hillar (YZ85) – 50 

2^nd Kobe Carroll (YZ85) – 42 

3^rd Nicholas Oakshott (YZ85) – 40 

NZMX CHAMPIONSHIP OVERALL RESULTS (R1, R2, R3 & R4):

MX1

1^st Maximus Purvis (YZ450) – 297

2^nd Josiah Natzke – 248

3^rd Jack Symon – 216

7^th Tyler Cooksley (YZ450) – 136 

9^th Jayden McKenzie (YZ450) – 128 

10^th Kainosuke Oshiro (YZ450) – 86

12^th Tyler Steiner (YZ450) – 68 

15^th Carlin Hedley (YZ450) – 61 

17^th Liam Hutton (YZ450) – 55 

MX2

1^st Hayden Draper (YZ250F) – 253

2^nd James Scott (YZ250) – 245 

3^rd Caleb Ward – 229 

7^th Cody Griffiths (YZ250F) – 141

15^th Flynn Watts (YZ250F) – 89 

19^th Wills Harvey (YZ250F) – 55

20^th Junya Tanaka (YZ250F) – 53 

26^th Nixon Parkes (YZ250F) – 13 

31^st Aoi Takagi (YZ250F) – 1 

MX125

1^st Phoenix van Dusschoten – 291

2^nd Carson Carroll (YZ125) – 265

3^rd Arama Te Whetu – 221

4^th Ben Costello (YZ125) – 201 

WMX

1^st Karaitiana Horne – 151

2^nd Amie Roberts (YZ250F) – 117

3^rd Hannah Perris – 105

6^th Mikayla Griffiths (YZ250F) – 86 

11^th Ruby Pirika (YZ125) – 60

ALTHERM JCR YAMAHA WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE FOLLOWING SPONSORS:

Altherm Window Systems, Yamaha Motor New Zealand, Josh Coppins Racing, Hughes Transport, CVH Limited, Yamalube, GYTR, bLU cRU, YMF, YMI, Akrapovic, Holland Collision Centre, Ward Demolition, KT Trailers, Burger Fuel, Fox, Workshop Graphics, Dunlop, DID, Renthal, Motomuck, Vertex, Twin Air, Motoseat, Acerbis, POD Knee Braces, Motorcycle Performance NZ, GET, Tsuyoshi Hashimoto & Zeta.