Tauranga youngster Madoc Dixon impresses at New Zealand Motocross Championship

Altherm JCR Yamaha's youngest rider Madoc Dixon won his first national senior round in the MX125 class at the Rotorua-based New Zealand Motocross Championship's second round. Photo / CLMINTIEPIX

Tauranga youngster Madoc Dixon has made a name for himself at the second round of the New Zealand Motocross Championships in Rotorua.

Altherm JCR Yamaha's youngest team member, at just 16, won his first national senior round in the MX125 class.

"I felt awesome all day on the bike and the track was brutal and gnarly - just how I like it," he said.

"I had a mishap in race one with a fall but picked the bike up and dusted myself off to finish second."

Dixon went on to win the next two races, fighting his way through the pack each time. It gave him his first senior national motocross round victory - coming off the back of winning the national junior 125cc title earlier this month.

"It feels mean and I'm going to keep putting the hard yards in. My goals are to just keep improving, which [Yamaha ambassador] Ben Townley and Josh Coppins are helping me with a lot."

Coppins was pleased to see Dixon leading the championship by three points.

"The team have done a great job bringing him back up to speed after a serious wrist injury through the winter. I'm really happy with his performance."

It was a dominant outing for Altherm JCR Yamaha as Mangakino's Maximus Purvis was unassailable at the Rotorua track, recording the P1 position in qualifying, all three races and overall for the day.

He remains unbeaten halfway through the four-round season, after a trifecta of wins at the opening round, and has a huge 27-point lead as he heads towards retaining his title.

"It definitely feels good knowing I've got the points lead going into the last two rounds," he said.

"I've been working hard and I'm just going to keep it going for Pukekohe and Taupō."

Altherm JCR Yamaha team manager Coppins had nothing but praise for Purvis.

"Max was on another level on Sunday. He rode the fastest laps out of anyone all day, winning three from three comfortably.

"As a team, we've been working really hard to give him a package that matches the effort he's been putting in off the track. He's been training extremely hard and you can see that.

"I can confidently say that we've both stepped it up - him and the team - and that's reflected in the results. Now it's just about managing his lead."

The team's MX1 rider, Kayne Lamont, had a mid-week crash before the Rotorua round, which left him a little banged up. However, the effort he had put in with the team on his starts after the first round paid off and he qualified first.

Hamilton-based Lamont then holeshot the first race before going on to finish third.

In race two, following a crash, Lamont thought the engine had seized on his YZ450. When he walked it back to the pits, Coppins found a rock had jammed the rear brakes on.

"That happened to me once in my career as a rider but never as a racer," Coppins said.

"Kayne was extremely unlucky that as he was braking, a rock happened to slip in between the engine and the brake and jam it on."

The resulting DNF and third in the final outing dropped Lamont down to sixth for the weekend and dented his championship hopes.

NZMX Round two results – Rotorua

MX1

1st Hamish Harwood – 75

2nd Cody Cooper – 66

3rd Wyatt Chase – 54

4th Tyler Steiner – 47

5th Hadleigh Knight – 44

6th Kayne Lamont – 40

MX2
1st Maximus Purvis – 75
2nd Josiah Natzke – 58
3rd Hayden Smith – 58
4th Reece Lister – 47
5th James Scott – 44

MX125
1st Madoc Dixon – 72
2nd Cobie Bourke – 67
3rd Hayden Smith – 62
4th Jack Symon – 49
5th Dylan Westgate – 45

NZMX Championship points standings

MX1

1st Hamish Harwood – 122

2nd Cody Cooper – 106

3rd Wyatt Chase – 95

4th Kayne Lamont – 80

MX2
1st Maximus Purvis – 125
2nd Josiah Natzke – 98
3rd Hayden Smith – 89

MX125
1st Madoc Dixon – 110
2nd Cobie Bourke – 107
3rd Hayden Smith – 107