The summer months have flown past and the nation’s motocross riders are gearing up for back-to-back weekends of racing as the Yamaha Motor New Zealand Motocross Championship’s third and fourth rounds are thrashed out in the North Island.
This Saturday, February 21, Tauranga’s Tect Park will host the season’s penultimate event. After the opening two rounds in November, in the South Island, the championship class riders have spent the past three months honing their focus on gaining maximum points in every race.
In the flagship MX1 class, Mangakino’s Yamaha highflyer Maximus Purvis holds the top spot, 20 points ahead of Huntly Honda man Josiah Natzke. Southlander Jack Symon sits 22-points behind Natzke. No doubt these top three will be elbows out, gunning for strong results come Saturday.
The MX2 category is much closer, with the top three all currently within 4 points of each other. Trans-Tasman contender Caleb Ward (KTM 250SXF), of Queensland, and Kiwi title hopeful Karaka-based Yamaha rider Hayden Draper share first equal on 121 points. While Draper’s Altherm JCR Yamaha teammate James Scott is hot on their heels with 117 points. Oparau-based Scott was returning from injury in November and had promised to be back at full fitness by this third round, which will make for some fiercely contested 250cc motocross battles tomorrow and next Saturday.
Levin’s Phoenix Van Dusschoten (GasGas) leads the 125cc class and holds a solid championship lead of 20 points over Waipukurau Yamaha rider Carson Carroll. Arama TeWhetu, of Tauranga, had a strong showing on his KTM125 to clinch the runner-up spot in the second round in Balclutha and moved into third place in the championship 24 points shy of Carroll.
In the non-championship MX3 class Invercargill’s Dekan Harris is the current front-runner with fellow Southlander Dylan Marshall in second. Taupo’s Mikalya Griffiths, who held the third spot in this class will move out to contest the Women’s Championship.
This weekend will feature an impressive field of 18 female riders in Round 2 of the Women’s Championship. The first round was to be held in conjunction with the New Zealand Motocross Grand Prix, at the end of January in Woodville but unfortunately that was cancelled due to adverse weather.
Defending champion Karaitiana Horne returns on her KX250 and will be doing her best to add to her already extensive national trophy collection. She and Griffiths are part of a four-woman team heading to the Oceania Women’s Motocross Championships in Australia next month.
The event, scheduled for Wonthaggi, south of Melbourne, on the weekend of March 21-22, will pit the best four-rider teams from Asia, the United States of America, Australia and New Zealand against one another.
The Kiwi squad selected by Motorcycling New Zealand (MNZ) also includes international WMX champion Courtney Duncan and Hamilton’s Amie Roberts, with Nelson’s Milla Dahlenburg nominated as the non-travelling reserve.
Motorcycling New Zealand Operations Manager Vicky Hicks says: “Having a three-month break in the 2026 Yamaha Motor New Zealand Motocross Championship means the riders hopefully come back refreshed and reinvigorated. We look forward to seeing them compete in Tauranga this weekend and then again when round four moves to the Rotorua MX Track next Saturday for the finale on February 28.”
“I’d like to say a huge thank you to our championship sponsors for their continued support, and to our incredible volunteers and officials, and of course the riders and their teams who make every round possible. We couldn’t do it without you!”
TECT Park, Tauranga
Gates open for spectators from 8am
Gate Entry: Adults (Over 14) – $20; Children (14 & under) – $10; Family Pass (2 adults + 2 children) – $50
NZMX CHAMPIONSHIP OVERALL RESULTS (R1 & R2):
MX1
1st Maximus Purvis (YZ450) – 150
2nd Josiah Natzke – 130
3rd Jack Symon – 108
MX2
1st equal Hayden Draper (YZ250F) – 121
1st equal Caleb Ward – 121
3rd James Scott (YZ250) – 117
MX125
1st Phoenix van Dusschoten – 147
2nd Carson Carroll (YZ125) – 127
3rd Arama TeWhetu – 103
MX3 Cup
1st Dekan Harris – 135
2nd Dylan Marshall – 126
3rd Mikalya Griffiths (YZ250F) – 111
MX85 Cup
1st Nixon Coppins (YZ85) – 147
2nd Levi McMaster – 129
3rd Samuel Gray – 118
CAPTION: Oparau’s James Scott (#108) sits only four points adrift of his Altherm JCR Yamaha teammate Hayden Draper in the MX2 class (who is first equal with Australian rider Caleb Ward) going into the final two rounds of the Yamaha Motor New Zealand Motocross Championship. PHOTO CREDIT: DEREK MORRISON PHOTOGRAPHY
2026 Yamaha Motor New Zealand Motocross Championship calendar:
Round 1 16 November 2025 – Invercargill
Round 2 22 November 2025 – Balclutha
Round 3 21 February 2026 – Tauranga
Round 4 28 February 2026 – Rotorua
