YOUNG YAMAHA STAR HAS SPEED TO BURN
T
he 2018 senior motocross nationals are
just around the corner and Mangakino’s
Maximus Purvis can’t wait to sink his
teeth into the opposition. The Altherm
JCR Yamaha Racing Team star had
another good work-out at Summercross,
racing three separate classes over two days
of scorching high-level motocross action.
The annual event was regarded as another training
exercise and bike testing session for the Altherm
JCR Yamaha Racing Team rider and it was certainly
intense preparation for the 17-year-old Purvis, who
won two classes and finished runner-up in another.
On the Friday he raced his Yamaha YZ125 to
victory in the junior 125cc class and then took
his Yamaha YZ250F to back that up with an
outright win in the junior 250cc class as well.
He was back on the start line the following
day, racing his 250cc Yamaha in the senior MX2
class and, once again, he was in sensational
form, although this time he was forced to settle
for the overall runner-up position, finishing
just behind Taupo’s Wyatt Chase (KTM).
By contesting more races than any other rider at
the event, Purvis showed he was fully recovered
from the frightening crash he suffered at the MX
Fest event in Taupo in October. All that remains
is for Purvis to “eliminate small mistakes” from
his repertoire before the most important race
action of the summer, the four-round 2018
senior New Zealand Motocross Championships,
which kick off in Taranaki in February.
Altherm JCR Yamaha Racing Team boss
Josh Coppins said he was satisfied with
most aspects of Purvis’ performances at
Summercross, but, as always, the former Grand
Prix hero is a hard task-master and he also said
there was still “room for improvement”.
“Max showed good speed, but he is still
making too many mistakes,” said Coppins.
In all, Purvis won seven races from 11 starts over
the two days at Whakatane. His ninth placing
in one on the senior MX2 races on Saturday
was the only real blight on his performance
and it cost him dearly in the points.