Boxing Day at the Cemetery Circuit

The final round of the 2017 Suzuki Series at Whanganui on Boxing Day is shaping up to be one of the best in recent memory.

Scott Moir leads the championship by just seven points from two young guns in Daniel Mettam and Mitch Rees. If they want the Suzuki Series win they cannot make a mistake as a single error or small slide could let the other rider past on the tricky street circuit.

If the close racing at Manfeild last Sunday is anything to go by the fans will get their monies worth on Boxing Day. But it won’t be the same because historically some riders take to the Cemetery Circuit as if they were riding around their back yard, Tony Rees is one on them, while others find racing over white lines, slippery steel manhole covers and railway lines challenging, and unsettling.

Taupo’s Moir (CD van der Meer Builders GSXR1000 ) and Auckland’s Mettam (Suzuki NZ GSXR1000 ) excel in these conditions, while Mitch Rees remains largely untested on his Honda Rider Insurance CBR1000RR. The Whakatane rider has only raced the Cemetery Circuit a single time, although he posted handy positions last year the 24 year old wasn’t at the pace of his legendary father. Mettam and Mitch Rees have 82 points apiece.

Mettam says, “I finished third and fourth at Whanganui last year so I think we can have a good result next week. There’s no time to set the bike up so you have to get on the pace straight away.”

Mitch talks up his chances, “If I can go faster at Whanganui that’s a bonus. We’ve got a bit more experience under the belt this year and it’s a completely different experience as no one rider or practices there.”

The big news is Tony Rees will not be racing on Boxing Day due to a suspected break in his hand from a fall at Manfeild. As such, he won’t be defending his Robert Holden Memorial title on Boxing Day, which leaves the gate wide open for whoever wants their name on the trophy most.

Tony Rees offered his opinion during the week, “I think Scotty Moir, Dan Mettam and Hayden Fitzgerald will go well at Whanganui. Mitch is riding well there but he’s only raced there once, but he’s going well so you never know. The track may be too tight for Lee Johnson?”

Tony said he is definitely not retiring and hopes to make a return at the Burt Munro in February.

Isle of Man resident Connor Cummins has arrived in NZ and is testing Tony Rees’ 2017 Honda Rider Insurance CBR1000RR at Taupo today, which he may elect to race instead of the Honda he brought halfway around the world. Cummins has placed on the Isle of Man TT podium several times and may be remembered from his televised high speed crash off the road and disappearing over a bank during the 2010 Isle of Man Senior TT.

Regardless of Rees opinion Johnson nor Cummins can’t be discounted as they are professional racers with vast ‘roads’ experience, even if their ‘roads’ circuits are longer tracks. Johnson, of Northern Ireland, crossed the line fourth in race one at Manfeild however was penalised for a jump start, although he proved to have the pace.

Johnson says he came to NZ to compete at Whanganui. “Maybe next year we’ll try to do all three rounds? Whanganui is a street circuit and I am a ‘roads’ racer now so I’m genuinely looking forward to it and everybody has been telling me good things like it has a good crowd and a good atmosphere and the track is tight, twisty and knarly, so it should be good.”

Hayden Fitzgerald, of New Plymouth peddled his fast bLU cRU Yamaha YZF-M1 to a podium position last week and was a close fifth in race two. His work last year on a standard bike in preparation for this summer is already paying dividends.

Sloan Frost puts a lot of preparation into his race effort however he has his work cut out to be in the points hunt. With nothing to lose and now a lot of Cemetery Circuit experience on his Fujistu TSS Red Baron Suzuki GSXR1000 the Wellington racer will be at the pointy end on race day. Frost is fourth in the Suzuki Series standings with 73 points and as we’ve seen in the past, anything can happen on the day to put him further up the order.

With 89 points, Moir leads in the 2017 Suzuki Series heading into one of his favourite tracks plus, he is the last person to taste victory other than Tony Rees, back in 2014. Place your bets!

“I’ve got a points lead so that is a confidence boost going into Wanganui,” Moir expands. “I’m not scared of ‘pushing’ it around there and I guess my motocross background helps, plus I started my road racing around the streets.”

If a rider at Whanganui makes a small mistake they’re not awarded a scrum, line-out or throw-in, they get a quick trip into the hay bales. And whoever is hungry enough to make a pass on the rider they need to hold their breath, go off-line and brake a half metre later than their rival – something which is not easy to do at speed, and with the distractions of over ten thousand screaming fans telling them what to do.

And it’s all the more difficult passing a much wider sidecar. In 2015, five-time world champion Tim Reeves stunned the spectators with his incredible lap record pace and you’d not want to miss that sight again on Tuesday. The current British F1 Sidecar champion got just a few laps in last year before a machine issue and on his bucket list is to win at Whanganui with passenger Mark Wilkes, who couldn’t race in 2015 due to injury.

Reeves is revved up, “I love Whanganui, I can’t wait! We’ll be on equal machinery at Whanganui, Barry will be on a short bike with a 600 Suzuki motor and I’ll be on a short bike with a 600 Honda motor. Mark and I have unfinished business there and I really want to get a win for Mark and for me, and on the F2 bike it’ll be super fun. Bring it on!”

There are eight overseas teams and other than Reeves one of the fastest so far has been the Tony Baker/Shelly Smithies UK combination on their Silicone Engineering Baker Suzuki 600, and the Cemetery Circuit may better suit all the riders with the smaller F2 rigs so we may see a very different finishing order on race day. The Australia/Ireland Graeme Evans/Eamon Mulholland duo took a handy fifth at Manfeild on their Rick Hanger Racing ZX-10 F1 machine.

Barry Smith and Tracey Bryan have been unbeatable after four races and they are pulling the covers off their smaller F2 Carl Cox Motorsport F2 ‘chair’ especially for Whanganui to protect their points lead.

Smith says, “We rode that bike at Whanganui last year and we didn’t do too badly on it, so we’re hoping to finish as high as we can in the F1 class on the smaller bike.”

But do not forget Adam Unsworth and Bryce Rose who took the fight to Reeves last Sunday. Unsworth and former passenger Stu Dawe won both races last year and currently hold second in the F1 sidecar standings – matter not they are on a three decade of sidecar!

There’s more interest in the F2 category with that class lead by Shane Richardson who is a handy 19 points ahead of Rogan Chandler, with Avalon Biddle in third. He won’t need reminding but Richardson lost his points lead and with it the F2 championship the last two years running after crashing out of contention at Whanganui.

Paeroa rider Blake Ross leads the Suzuki Gixxer 150 Cup with 83 points to Clark Fountain who is seven points adrift, but won’t be racing on Boxing Day. Tarbon Walker, of Whanganui, has shown patches of brilliance and so has Thomas Newton from Pukekohe, amongst others. Jesse Stroud will also not be racing at Whanganui.

2017 Suzuki Series schedule

Rnd 3: Whanganui Cemetery Circuit, Tuesday December 26

Suzuki F1 Superbike series points: Scott Moir, 89; Daniel Mettam & Mitch Rees, 82 = ; Sloan Frost; 73; Hayden Fitzgerald, 66.

Pirelli Formula 2 series points: Shane Richardson, 98; Rogan Chandler, 79; Avalon Biddle, 70; Toby Summers, 67; Ashton Hughes, 59.

Collegiate Quality Inn F1 Sidecars series points; Barry Smith/Tracey Bryan, 102; Adam Unsworth/Bryce Rose, 81; Chris & Ritchie Lawrance, 68; Pete Goodwin/Kendal Dunlop, 67.5; Graeme Evans/Eamon Mulholland (Australia/Ireland), 61.5.

Collegiate Quality Inn F2 Sidecar series points; Tim Reeves/Mark Wilkes (UK), 77; Tony Baker/Shelly Smithies (UK), 65; Corey Winter/ Kieran Whitham, 49.5; Gordie McKeown/Geoff Davies, 44; Eckart Rosinger/Darren Prentice (Germany/NZ), 39.

Suzuki Gixxer 150 Cup series points: Blake Ross, 83; Clark Fountain, 76; Tarbon Walker, 70; Michael Wilson, 53; Thomas Newton & Harry Parker 52 =.