As motorcycling events in New Zealand disappear off the calendar, the Altherm JCR Yamaha team is choosing to push disappointment aside, pivot, and embrace a change of direction.

The cancellation of firstly the New Zealand Motocross Championships, closely followed by the New Zealand Superbike Championships last week was a blow to Yamaha Motor New Zealand Motorsport Manager Josh Coppins and his teams' riders.

'Of course, it's a shame for all our riders but it's not going to slow us down,” says Josh.

'We are taking a new angle and seeing this strange start to 2022 as a chance to mix with different customers. This summer we will focus on activation rather than racing.

'Racing is at the core of our hearts at Yamaha but if we can't do it properly, we will get into what we can do safely. As is always the case, we will strive to do a good job for our sponsors and brands,” says Josh.

The Altherm JCR Yamaha bLUcRU Kids Camp and Yamaha Off-Road Demo location at Oparau.Photo: CD Photography.

Josh and his team have planned a series of bLUcRU Kids Camps and Yamaha Off-Road Demos throughout the country, with March's Yamaha Adventure Ride, a real highlight for off-the-beaten-trail enthusiasts.

If the first bLUcRU Kids Camp and Yamaha Off-Road Demo at Oparau in the Waikato region recently was anything to go by, the activations planned for the next four months are bound to be popular.

101 Adventures owner and Yamaha ambassador Ben Townley runs the off-road demo days for the brand and he says the Oparau event was 'an awesome success”.

'We had a wicked location out the western edge of the Waikato,” says Ben. 'The trail was really cool and had a good mix of fast and slow tracks and trails, so everyone was able to get a really good gauge on what the Yamaha off-road fleet has to offer.

'We had a large turnout of riders and our team was able to provide them with plenty of insight into how to set the bikes up and which bike model best suited their riding style.”

Josh's plan is to keep the Altherm JCR Yamaha teams' riders active in the racing scene by entering them in fringe events that are still able to go ahead in the current red traffic light system.

Participants gather for the Altherm JCR Yamaha bLUcRU Kids Camp and Yamaha Off-Road Demo at Oparau. Photo: CD Photography.

The first of these is the Yamaha Sprint Races for the Altherm JCR Yamaha road racing teams at Teretonga Park, in Invercargill, on February 12 and 13. The event is being held as a fundraiser for young Yamaha talent Cormac Buchanan, to help finance his return to Europe to contest the 2022 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup and FIM JuniorGP campaign.

Next up, at the end of February, is a combined event at Glen Murray, south of Pukekohe, featuring a Yamaha staff demo day, plus an Off-Road Demo for customers and a two-day bLUcRU Kids Camp. A similar demo day and kids camp formula will be repeated in early March and held north of Auckland at Makarau.

'Something I'm personally really excited about is our Yamaha Adventure Ride based around the Wairarapa region and run by Ben Townley,” says Josh.

'This will be my third one and Ben always does a stellar job of finding amazing areas to ride through that motorcyclists wouldn't normally be able to access.”

Ben has been busy scouting the routes for the March 30 to April 2 cross-country journey and is confident that it is going to be the 'Yamaha Adventure Ride of a lifetime”.

April will see the Yamaha crew head to Southland to host a demo day and kids camp in Gore. Then the NZ Junior Nationals is scheduled for April 22 – 24 but is still to be confirmed at this stage.

Following a further demo day and kids camp in Christchurch at the end of April, May will herald the start of Altherm's MX Masterclass competition. Held throughout New Zealand in Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Nelson and Southland, the four locations will host the winners, with Josh and his team providing them with an unmatchable experience.

Available to all keen motocross riders, aged 6 - 12 years - with 12 places up for grabs at each Masterclass destination - they'll train with, and receive coaching from the best in the business.

School visits will fill other empty gaps in Josh's diary, and he has launched a promotion with Altherm, to give away an Altherm JCR Yamaha PW50 motorbike valued at $2,299.

Keeping a close eye on New Zealand's borders and MIQ regulations, Josh is busy preparing several motocross riders, who want to head overseas to race in Australia and potentially America.

Having raced internationally himself for 19 years in Asia, Europe and Australia, he has plenty of practical advice and guidance to help these young Kiwis to fly on the world stage.

'While it is not the summer of racing we were hoping for, the Altherm JCR Yamaha crew would like to thank everyone for their ongoing support in such trying times,” says Josh.

Altherm JCR Yamaha's Calendar of Events:

12^th to 13^th February Yamaha Sprint Races, Teretonga Park

24^th February 2022 – Yamaha Staff Demo Day, Glen Murray

25^th February 2022 – Yamaha Off-Road Demo, Glen Murray

26^th & 27^th February 2022 – bLUcRU Kids Camp, Glen Murray

11^th March 2022 – Yamaha Off-Road Demo, Makarau

12^th & 13^th March 2022 – bLUcRU Kids Camp, Makarau

30^th March to 2^nd April 2022 – Yamaha Adventure Ride, Wairarapa

8^th April 2022 – Yamaha Off-Road Demo, Gore

9^th & 10^th April 2022 – bLUcRU Kids Camp, Gore

22^nd to 24^th April 2022 – NZ Junior Nationals, Invercargill (TBC)

29^th April 2022 – Yamaha Off-Road Demo, Christchurch

30^th April & 1st May 2022 – bLUcRU Kids Camp, Christchurch

14^th May 2022 – Altherm MX Masterclass (Auckland)

15^th May 2022 – Altherm MX Masterclass (Bay of Plenty)

21^st May 2022 – Altherm MX Masterclass (Nelson)

28^th May 2022 – Altherm MX Masterclass (Southland)

To register for our bLUcRU Kids Camps* visit: https://www.imemanagement.co.nz/blucru-kids-camps/

To register for our Yamaha Off-Road Demos visit: https://101adventures.co.nz/demo-days

To register for the Yamaha Adventure Ride visit: https://101adventures.co.nz/adv-tours

To enter the Altherm MX Masterclass competition visit: https://www.altherm.co.nz/promo/mxmaster

To enter the PW50 giveaway visit: https://www.altherm.co.nz/promo/pw50

*Under the COVID-19 Protection Framework, the bLUcRU Kids Camps are classified as controlled access events, operating as commercial recreation activities, and are able to run at scale by mandating My Vaccine Pass. All attendees aged 12 years and 3 months and above will need to provide My Vaccine Pass to enter the venue. All other events and activations are classed as gatherings and have a capacity limit of 25 people with controlled access.