Packed summer ahead for motocross, road racing

Altherm Yamaha Racing Team Superbike rider Alastair Hoogenboezem. Photo: Supplied.

Staring down the barrel of the first full summer race season in three years, the Altherm JCR Yamaha motocross and road racing teams are fired up for plenty of track time over the next six months.

Yamaha's Motorsport Manager Josh Coppins has been busy behind the scenes working with the riders to ensure they are prepped and ready to begin racing in maximum attack mode from October onwards.

'There is a great feeling within the Altherm JCR Yamaha teams, as heading into this season we are all really looking forward to getting going again post all the Covid interruptions everyone has experienced over the past couple of years.”

'We kick into our motocross season with the NZ Junior Motocross Nationals in New Plymouth from October 7 to 9. We have a strong, young team and I'm happy with the staff and riders we have on board. Not only are we poised to do well at the top end of the competition, with Maximus Purvis in MX1 but also, importantly, the development of the group is going in a good direction.”

'We have Brodie Connolly coming up the ranks in MX2 and our youngest team member Cole Davies who is racing in the MX125cc class. The team is excited to get going and it feels like this is our strongest line-up ever. In saying that, we understand it's sport and anything can happen, so we've got our fingers on the pulse and will keep working hard,” Coppins says.

Altherm JCR Yamaha motocross rider Brodie Connolly's Yamaha YZ250F. Photo: Supplied.

Yamaha YZ450 rider, Mangakino's Purvis is clear about his aims for the 2022/2023 competition. 'My goals for the season are to be fit and ready to go. I want to stay constant through the nationals and try to stay on the podium each round,” he says.

Tauranga's Connolly has the 2022/2023 MX2 championship trophy in his sights and is riding his YZ250F three times a week 'doing motos and speed work” to compliment his off-bike training regime. He will make his debut at the Motocross of Nations, in Michigan, United States at the end of this month, where he will race in the MX2 category in the New Zealand team. 

Davies also has victory on his goal list and wants to win both the Junior 125cc and 250cc class at the 2022 Junior Nationals, then back up these results with a first-place finish in the Senior 125cc New Zealand Motocross Championship.

The Waitoki-based youngster has been training with Yamaha ambassador and former international rider Ben Townley. Davies is raring to go in the dual classes next month before he heads to Australia to compete in the Australian Supercross Series from late October.

Townley's sons Levi and Jaggar will also race under the Yamaha Junior Racing team banner in the junior motocross categories.

Coppins says the road racing season is shaping up to be super exciting, with two of the Altherm JCR Yamaha team's riders currently racing internationally. 

'We've got Alastair Hoogenboezem competing over in Australia pre-season and Cormac Buchanan who has been racing in Europe. They are both going to come back with a lot of experience and confidence off the back of their overseas campaigns and are really going to hit the ground running. Jake Lewis joins Cormac in the Altherm Yamaha Racing Development Team under Steve Lloyd and will race in the Supersport 600 class.”

Altherm Yamaha Racing Team Superbike rider Alastair Hoogenboezem. Photo:

Riding for the top-tier 2022/2023 Altherm Yamaha Racing Team, Hoogenboezem is heading to Australia to get himself well-prepped for the New Zealand Superbike Championship, which begins earlier than usual in December. He has contested one club round at Phillip Island GP Circuit over there already and will race in the Moto GP round from October 15/16 and the World Superbike/Australian Superbike round over the November 19/20 weekend at the same track. 

'The goal is to take back the number 1 plate off my good mate Mitch Rees, who has had it since I was NZ#1 in 2020. I also want to further develop our new Yamaha YZF-R1M that I'm yet to do a national season on and fly the flag for Yamaha after all the support they have given me,” Hoogenboezem says.

A big change this year is that the New Zealand Superbike Championship (NZSBK) begins in December.

'Normally we start the first weekend of the New Year but with our two major series combining, we will race from December to March. We will get six rounds of racing in, which I believe has never happened before. It means the Suzuki Series we normally treat as a warmup for nationals won't be our warmup anymore. We need to be ready to race for national points in December,” Hoogenboezem says.

Buchanan also intends to maximise his summer in New Zealand and arrives home from his European campaign on November 10 and intends to ride at his home track Teretonga Park, near Invercargill, the next day. He has been honing his considerable skills internationally in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup and the FIM JuniorGP, where he contested the Hawkers European Talent Cup, over the New Zealand off-season.

Buchanan will compete in two NZSBK classes and is targeting a title defence in the Supersport 300 category and improving the lap records he has already broken. 'I want to win every race and have a bit of fun,” he says.

Stepping up to riding a Yamaha YZF-R6 in the Supersport 600 class, comes with a different set of goals, he says. 'I want to learn as much as we can from the front guys, while being competitive and mixing with them. This is the best sort of racing I can do before I head back overseas for 2023.” 

Buchanan has been training in Spain, riding on kart tracks, flat tracks and motocross circuits, which has left him feeling 'the fittest I've ever been,” he says.

After taking a step up from last year to race the 2022 Junior World Champs, he has had a season full of learning but can't wait to get home to New Zealand once it wraps up. 'I'm very excited to be reunited with the whole Altherm JCR Yamaha team and see all my mates back in NZ. It's going to be really nice!” he says.

Rangiora's Lewis plans to race consistently to end up on the podium, with the ultimate ambition of taking home the 2022/23 New Zealand Supersport 600 Championship trophy.

Among the motocross and road racing calendars, the bLUcRU Kids Camps will be taking place around the country. Coppins says that while the quantity has been reduced, due to the packed race schedule, 'we are working on the bLUcRU Kids Camps' quality as they are growing and getting better all the time.”

'I really enjoy this side of our Yamaha activations and being part of the team working with the kids at a grassroots level. Seeing the smiles on their faces and watching them learn and progress with their riding over a couple of days, is a real highlight for us as a brand.”

For more information and to register, please head to https://www.imemanagement.co.nz/blucru-kids-camps/

The Yamaha Off-Road Demo Days are on hold until 2023 and will be back bigger and better next year.

For Coppins, his personal, annual highlight is the Yamaha Adventure Ride, run by Townley and his wife Lucy's company 101 Adventures. Next year it will be held from February 8 to 11 and takes participants on an off-the-beaten-track journey from Whanganui to Raglan.

'The Yamaha Adventure Ride is my favourite event of the year. Simply because Ben and Lucy run it so well and I can just turn up and enjoy the riding. I've introduced many friends to this adventure over the three years it's been going for and we always ride through some stunning parts of New Zealand you never usually see. 

For more information and to register, please head to https://101adventures.co.nz/adv-tours

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