The 2025 New Zealand Motocross Championships wrapped up at the weekend with an action-packed second visit to the Phillips’ farm track south-west of Rotorua.
It ended up with two repeat winners this year – Mangakino’s Maximus Purvis and Raetihi’s Karaitiana Horne – and also two first-time champions in Tauranga’s Madoc Dixon and Karaka’s Hayden Draper.
What’s more, four different bike brands shared those championship-winning honours – Purvis riding a Yamaha, Horne on a Kawasaki, Dixon on a KTM and Draper on a Husqvarna.
The national MX1 champion in 2023, Purvis had led the MX1 class from the start of the four-round series this year, which had kicked off near Tauranga in mid-February, but he came under heavy fire on Saturday from defending 2024 MX1 champion Hamish Harwood and recently-returned Kiwi international Josiah Natzke.
However, Purvis stood firm and withstood the onslaught.
Riding sensibly, Purvis finished 3-3-1 in his three races in this premier class at Rotorua on Saturday, beaten to the top step of the day’s podium by West Auckland rider Harwood (who clocked in 1-1-2 results), but it was easily enough for Purvis to clinch the title overall for 2025, with Harwood clinching second and Mount Maunganui’s Natzke taking third.
Yamaha’s Maximus Purvis (No.44) gives chase to KTM’s Hamish Harwood (No.1) at Rotorua on Saturday. Purvis eventually won the title by a comfortable 15 points. Photo by Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ.com
In the close-fought MX2 (250cc) class, Dixon was just four points ahead of nearest challenger Cobie Bourke at the start of the day in Rotorua and the battle would obviously go down to the wire.
Dixon’s 4-2-5 score-card at Rotorua meant he finished only fourth overall for the day, beaten by Opotiki’s multi-time former New Zealand champion Cody Cooper – the 41-year-old (pictured above getting the holeshot on his GASGAS No.121) showing he still has the strength and talent to win at the top level – while Pukehina 18-year-old Flynn Watts finished runner-up and Taihape’s Hayden Smith was third overall on the day.
Fortunately for Dixon, he really only had to concern himself with staying ahead of Bourke at this final round, and he did just that and it was enough to give him the title by nine points from Bourke. Smith finished third overall for the series in this MX2 class.
Meanwhile, Watts was fourth for the series, but he did win the MX2 battle-within-a-battle for glory in the under-19 sub-category.
In the chase for senior 125cc class honours, 15-year-old Draper notched a solid 3-3-2 scorecard at Rotorua to maintain his position at the top of the standings – although Auckland’s Jack Ellingham was on fire with a hat-trick of wins at Rotorua – and this was easily enough for Draper to clinch his first senior New Zealand crown.
Ellingham settled for overall runner-up, while third best in the 125cc class was rising young star Delton Manson, from Rotorua.
Honda’s Cobie Bourke (left) and KTM’s Madoc Dixon, battling for ascendancy in the MX2 (250cc) class at Rotorua on Saturday. Photo by Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ.com
Draper had won the 12-13 years’ 85cc/150cc class title in the 2022 Zealand junior motocross championships, before going on to win the younger of the two 200-250cc classes in Australia in September last year.
Few could stick with Horne in the women’s class action.
Defending champion Horne won six of the 12 women’s races this season and was no worse than second in the other races, finishing a whopping 46 points clear of eventual runner-up Mikayla Griffiths, from Taupo, and 60 points clear of third-ranked rider Amie Roberts, from Hamilton.
The national series attracts riders from the length and breadth of the country and this year it again drew international competitors – several from Australia and Japan – with eventual winners and even runners-up in the various classes likely going on to represent professional teams, or their country, in overseas competitions.
© Words and photos by Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ.com
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Husqvarna’s Hayden Draper (red-plated bike No.96) gets the jump out of the gate at the start of this 125cc class race at Rotorua on Saturday. Photo by Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ.com
NZMX CHAMPIONSHIPS OVERALL STANDINGS:
MX1:
1st Maximus Purvis – 275 points
2nd Hamish Harwood – 260
3rd Josiah Natzke – 257
MX2:
1st Madoc Dixon – 235 points
2nd Cobie Bourke – 226
3rd Hayden Smith – 207
MX125:
1st Hayden Draper – 270 points
2nd Jack Ellingham – 249
3rd Delton Manson – 220
Under-19:
1st Flynn Watts – 272 points
2nd Hayden Draper – 225
3rd Wills Harvey – 223
Women:
1st Karaitiana Horne – 282 points
2nd Mikayla Griffiths – 236
3rd Amie Roberts – 222