KIWI RIDER 01 2019 VOL.2 | Page 33

CHASE “It was a good result for me here to get into the groove for the nationals,” he said after registering a 1-2-1 score-card in the MX2 class at the King of the Mountain, edging out Taupo’s Wyatt Chase (Honda CRF250), who managed 2-1-3. “I have raced at the King of the Mountain before, but not for a few years now,” said Purvis. Starts let Purvis down at Taranaki, but he showed incredible pace to power through the field each time. “I learnt today that I have a lot of work to do on my starts,” he smiled. “It makes it hard for me when I can’t get a start right. I need to look at my reaction time and technique. “The bike’s going great, so I can’t blame the machinery at all.” It’s a jam-packed race calendar for Purvis and he has no spare time before his next big outing, the New Zealand Motocross Grand Prix at Woodville on January 26-27. He won the National 125cc class and the Roddy Shirriffs Memorial trophy (for the top rider aged under 21 years) at Woodville in 2018. After Woodville, he then makes a return to Barrett Road on February 3 for round one of the nationals, followed by rounds in Rotorua (on February 17), then Pukekohe (on February 24) and, finally, the nationals wrap up at Taupo on March 10. Immediately after the New Zealand Motocross Championships, Purvis will head across the Tasman Sea to tackle the under-19 Motocross Development (MXD) class in the Australian nationals. The Kiwi motocross international is already well familiar with what’s ahead of him in Australia after he finished third overall in the MXD class there in 2018.