March 3rd 2026: Maximus Purvis

I have now covered all four rounds of the 2026 Yamaha New Zealand Motocross Championships – two in the South Island and two in the North Island. It has been an incredible series to rejoin the motocross family and to see just why New Zealand is able to produce so many world-class moto athletes.

I first started in motocross way back in the late 1980s, then through the 1990s, along with surfing and snowboarding, motocross was one of my main focuses as a young photographer. Motocross shaped me as a person. Firstly, when riding, having to train so hard only to have some crash or mechanical dash your chances. And then as a photographer, having to deal with the elements, the pressure and learning to deal with so many people. It paid off as my eight years working in Australia were mainly shooting dirt bikes. 

To be back in the motocross world again feels quite special. Guys I used to race against are now team managers and moto dads to leading pros. And then there is this rider from Mangakino, Maximus Purvis. He's not your ordinary clean-cut motocrosser. He's a wild man, an incredible talent and a humble character – the type who quickly becomes the people's champion. And he has. 

Maximus rides for Altherm JCR Yamaha under the guidance of Josh Coppins. In the 2026 series, he had won every race leading up to the final round – 9 straight victories in MX1, the premier class. Even riders like Josiah Natzke, who himself is incredibly fast, couldn't crack his pace. Honda brought over Australian MX1 champion Kyle Webster to have a crack at him in the last two rounds. Though he put up a great battle, even Kyle couldn't catch him. As it came down to the last round it looked like Maximus would take New Zealand's first-ever perfect season in MX1.

On a picturesque motocross track carved into rolling farmland beneath the Horohoro Bluffs near Rotorua, Maximus made a small mistake that saw Kyle Webster take the chequers in race 10 of the 12-race series. Maximus made good in the last two to complete a near-perfect 11 wins from 12 races and took the MX1 Championship title. 

Afterwards, Maximus sat on the deck of his ute with his mate Ethan Andrell. He had changed into his hunting boots. He looked relaxed, stoked and if you didn't know, you might walk past him and not realise that he is one of the greatest motocross talents in the world right now. 

See you at the beach ... Derek

PS March is peak cyclone season for the Pacific and, apart from a few nasty storms, we've had very few this summer, so far. Well, that's about to change ... there are currently 10 tropical lows lining up below the equator and heading into the Pacific Ocean. At least a few of those are likely to turn into tropical cyclones, and given the direction they're travelling, hopefully they'll skirt around the top of the North Island. The swell is welcomed, but the rain ... well, we've had enough. Also, lots of swell traffic in the Southern Ocean with my Papatowai alert going off for this weekend. Keep your eyes on the horizon ...