The winter months have been busy for the Altherm JCR Yamaha motocross team riders, as they travel across the globe to compete internationally.

Returning from an injury break, MX1 rider Maximus Purvis, of Mangakino, tested his reconstructed knee at the high profile and prestigious Hattah Desert race in Australia last weekend.

In an action-packed weekend that saw over 800 riders contest the gruelling sand race, the toll on man and machine was huge after four nonstop hours of racing on torturous terrain.

Riding for Australian team, WBR Yamaha, Purvis was competing in his first major race since being back on the bike following knee surgery. The quietly spoken Kiwi raced to an impressive fourth place finish and showed he has what it takes to win the event.

Purvis started the weekend strongly, taking P2 in the prologue and then leaping to the number 1 spot in the top ten shootout. Once the race started and after trading blows with fellow Yamaha rider Jack Simpson, Purvis settled into second place and found a pace he could maintain until the finish. His biggest issue wasn’t how fast he, or the bike was, it was refuelling. Heneeded to stop every lap for fuel, and it proved costly over the four-hour duration.

Altherm JCR Yamaha rider James Scott, will be leaving his Oparau base to compete across The Ditch in the last three rounds of the Australian Penrite ProMX nationals. Photo credit: CD Photography.

By the midway point, Purvis held down second place, but the next lap saw him swallowed up by the riders behind him as he stopped for fuel. He kept up the fight and crossed the finish line in fourth place outright, and third in the 450cc division.

“I’m pretty happy with how it all went and considering I haven’t had a lot of ride time since getting back on the bike, I was surprised with how fit I was and able to keep a good pace going,” Purvis says.

“The fuel stops hurt me as the other guys could do two laps on a full tank, whereas I had to come in each lap, but it’s something to we can learn for next time and hopefully use it to improve our position.”

“The WBR Yamaha guys are awesome to work with and it’s good to be back racing again,” Purvis says.

He will be riding the Yamaha YZ450 back in New Zealand when his domestic campaign begins with Altherm JCR Yamaha at the season-opening MX Fest in Taupo on 26th & 27th October 2024, followed by the annual Whakatane Summercross at the end of December. Following the Woodville GP in late January, the four-round New Zealand Motocross Championship will run through February and March.

Altherm JCR Yamaha rider James Scott, will be leaving his Oparau base to compete across The Ditch in the last three rounds of the Australian Penrite ProMX nationals. His first round is at Toowoomba in Queensland on Sunday, July 21 and then the final two rounds are in August.

Scott’s Altherm JCR Yamaha teammate Purvis will join him to compete in these last two rounds in the MX1 category and he will be riding for the Australian WBR Yamaha team.

Scott’s aim is to keep honing the successful race craft which saw him win the New Zealand MX2 title this season. He will be back on his Yamah YZ250F to defend his crown for the 2025 nationals.

“I want to keep going with my racing as the New Zealand season is pretty short. We only get four rounds of motocross nationals, so I want to keep a bit of a roll on over winter,” Scott says.

He is looking forward to the challenge of racing in the senior nationals for the first time in Australia.

Levi Townley is competing in the 2024 FIM Junior Motocross World Championship, which will be held at the sandy Circuit Kamperweg Heerde in The Netherlands, this weekend. Photo credit: CD Photography.

“It will be new to me and good to go over with the team and to get some testing in a race environment as we work towards our series next year.”

Scott also has his eye on selection for the Kiwi Motocross of Nations (MoN) team but admits there’s some tough competition with the calibre of New Zealand riders currently competing on the international stage.

Two youngsters who no doubt will be vying for MoN selection in years to come are brothers Levi and Jaggar Townley. The sons of former supercross and motocross star Ben Townley, they are currently over in Belgium, training for the 2024 FIM Junior Motocross World Championship, which will be held at the sandy Circuit Kamperweg Heerde in The Netherlands, this weekend.

The venue is a professional facility around 50km north of the MXGP circuit at Arnhem. The race is a showcase for the future stars of motocross, with past winners including Tim Gajser, Jorge Prado, Maxime Renaux, Pauls Jonass, and Jago Geerts. It is a great stepping stone to make it into the professional world of motocross and experience competition with a similar feel to an MXGP weekend. There’s likely to be factory scouts watching the progress of the best riders, so the Townleys will be hoping to impress.

Jaggar Townley will join his brother this weekend, racing in the 2024 FIM Junior Motocross World Championship. Photo credit: CD Photography.

“The boys have had a few weeks training in the sand and have been learning a lot about how rough and technical the European sand tracks can be. It’s been a great experience for them,” their mum Lucy Townley says.

Back on home soil, Altherm JCR Yamha Team Manager Josh Coppins has two riders from Japan doing some intensive training at his Motueka facility during their summer break. Currently, Aoi Takagi is sitting 2nd in the MX85 All Japan championship and Souya Nakajima is 2nd in MX2 in the All Japan championship. 

Coppins says it’s encouraging to see many of the team’s riders competing all around the world in different events.

“I’d like to wish all our Altherm JCR Yamaha crew good luck for their up-coming endeavours and thank them for their efforts over the past months. Summer will roll around again quickly and we are looking forward to the 2024/25 season getting underway.”  

2024/25 Altherm JCR Yamaha Contracted Racing Calendar:

26th & 27th October 2024 – MX Fest (Taupo)

28th & 29th December 2024 – Summercross (Whakatane) *TBC
25th & 26th January 2025 – Woodville GP (Woodville) *TBC
15th February 2025 – R1 NZMX Nationals (Tauranga)

22nd February 2025 – R2 NZMX Nationals (Rotorua)

8th March 2025 – R3 NZMX Nationals (Pukekohe)

16th March 2025 – R4 NZMX Nationals (Taupo)

2024/25 Altherm JCR Yamaha Activations Calendar:

18th to 20th October 2024 – bLUcRU Kids Camp (Rotorua)

22nd to 24th November 2024 – bLUcRU Kids Camp (Waikato)

8th December 2024 – Yamaha Women’s Off-Road Ride Day (Rotorua)

17th to 19th January 2025 – bLUcRU Kids Camp (Oparau)

31st January to 2nd February 2025 – bLUcRU Kids Camp (Gore)

ALTHERM JCR YAMAHA WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE FOLLOWING SPONSORS:

Altherm Window Systems, Yamaha Motor New Zealand, Josh Coppins Racing, Hughes Transport, Yamalube, GYTR, bLU cRU, YMF, YMI, Akrapovic, Holland Collision Centre, Ward Demolition, KT Trailers, Fox, Workshop Graphics, Pirelli, DID, Renthal, Motomuck, Vertex, Twin Air, Motoseat, Acerbis & Zeta.