The 2025 New Zealand Motocross Champs kick off in the Bay of Plenty this weekend and, with the incredibly close racing action seen recently, all bets are off as to where the trophies might end up this season.
The four-round series promises to deliver another cracker, with the all-important opener set for TECT Park, near Tauranga, this coming Saturday.
Expect to see riders such as West Auckland-based former Takaka man Hamish Harwood, Mangakino’s Maximus Purvis, Mount Maunganui’s Josiah Natzke, Invercargill’s Jack Symon, Waihi’s Luke Maitland and Pukekohe’s Reuben Smith to repeat their antics from the recent New Zealand Motocross Grand Prix at Woodville and lead the way in the premier MX1 class.
Riders such as Tauranga’s Cobie Bourke, the MX2 class winner at Woodville, Oparau’s defending national MX2 champion James Scott, Tauranga’s Madoc Dixon, Taihape’s Hayden Smith, Opotiki’s multi-time former champion Cody Cooper, Karaka’s Hayden Draper, Taupo’s Brad Groombridge, Whakatane’s Aydan Hall and Mangakino’s Maz Parkes are the individuals perhaps most likely to vie for top honours in the MX2 (250cc) class this weekend.
The 125cc class is possibly going to be a happy hunting ground for riders such as dual-class ironman Draper, Tauranga’s Levi Townley, Levin’s Phoenix Van Dusschoten, Auckland’s Jack Ellingham and Rotorua’s Delton Manson, to name just a few.
Australian riders Caleb Ward, Jesse Bishop, Mitch Norris and Taylah McCutcheon, along with Japanese visitors Haruki Yokoyama, Junya Tanaka and Souya Nakajima, will each add an international flavour to proceedings.
The cream of the women will also be on show in Tauranga this weekend, with Raetihi’s Karaitiana Horne, Hamilton’s Amie Roberts, Nelson’s Milla Dahlenburg and Rotorua’s Letitia Alabaster among the likely frontrunners.
Round two takes riders to Rotorua on February 22, followed by Pukekohe the following month, on March 8, and, finally, it all wraps up with a second visit to Rotorua on March 15.
Nelson’s Hayden Wilkinson (Honda No.81) and Taupo’s Brad Groombridge (Kawasaki No.338), ready to feature in Tauranga this weekend, Wilkinson in the MX1 class and Groombridge in the MX2 class. Photo by Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ.com
Following a spectacular season-opening Woodville event last month, we can surely expect similar fireworks at Tauranga this weekend.
A popular stand-alone event, the Woodville motocross produced close and exciting racing throughout all the various classes and also allowed teams and individuals to fine tune their preparations ahead of the nationals.
If the racing this weekend is of the same calibre that we witnessed at Woodville, then we really are in for a treat at Tauranga on Saturday.
The national series attracts riders from the length and breadth of the country and often draws in international competitors as well, with eventual winners, or runners-up in the various categories regularly going on to represent professional teams, or their country, in overseas competitions.
2025 New Zealand Senior Motocross Championships
Round 1, Saturday, Feb 15, 2025, Tauranga Motorcycle Club;
Round 2, Saturday Feb 22, 2025, Rotorua Motorcycle Club;
Round 3, Saturday, March 8, 2025, Pukekohe Motorcycle Club;
Round 4, Saturday, March 15, 2025, Rotorua Motorcycle Club.
© Words and photos by Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ.com
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