November 25th 2025: Dust and salt

There's quite a bit of crossover between surfing and motocross these days. It's a bit like yin and yang ... or, more accurately, dust and salt. Both sports thrive on sustained adrenaline with some wild moments that keep participants fully engaged. 

This past Saturday, I photographed Round 2 at the 2026 Yamaha New Zealand Motocross Championships, which took place on the banks of the Clutha River right in the town of Balclutha. The track is so picturesque, with big trees providing some welcome shade on a very hot November day. 

Brighton surfer and moto star Campbell King took on the MX1 class. This is the premier division in New Zealand motocross with some incredibly talented riders. Campbell was so consistent throughout the three races to finish seventh overall for the round. That's an impressive result – especially considering he popped his knee a few days earlier! It was great to see local surfers Graham Carse and FMX star Jesse Dobias there to support Campbell. 

The MX1 class was dominated by Mangakino rider Maximus Purvis. So far, at the halfway point in this championship, he's maintained a perfect season with six straight wins. Chasing him to the end of each MX1 race is Josiah Natzke – himself a seasoned pro rider. It's crazy to see how fast these guys are, and there is a storm of young riders brewing behind them.

The 2026 Yamaha New Zealand Motocross Championships resume in February in Tauranga and Rotorua.

Next week we're back to normal programming. 

See you at the beach ... Derek

PS We've had a heap of early orders for Christmas already and have been advised that Christmas 2025 cut-off times for courier with New Zealand Post are: December 22 for nationwide courier, December 8 for Australia and December 15 for the United States. We can also ship our large framed prints nationwide for a reasonable fee, but they will need to be booked by December 3 to guarantee delivery. Here's a link to our favourite artworks.