British rider Peter Hickman, in action during the Suzuki International Series racing at Manfeild in 2018. Photo / Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ.com
World-renowned Cemetery Circuit street race event in Whanganui
Some of the world’s top international motorcycle racing stars are packing their bags for a visit to New Zealand in just a few weeks’ time and the locals can’t wait to welcome them.
Excitement is building ahead of the start of the 2024 Suzuki International Series, set to kick off the first weekend in December, with the names of Isle of Man race winners now appearing on the growing list of entries.
The popular annual Suzuki International Series, including the world-renowned Cemetery Circuit street race event in Whanganui on Boxing Day, kicks off this busiest time of the year for New Zealand’s elite motorcycle road racers and international stars will again form an integral part of the three-round spectacle.
The opening round of the series at the Taupō International Motorsport Park on the weekend of December 7-8 will again be highly anticipated, with the excitement continuing at round two at Manfeild, on the outskirts of Feilding, just a week later, on December 14 and 15.
It wraps up, as always, with the spectacular finale on the public streets of Whanganui – the world-famous Cemetery Circuit – on Boxing Day.
British riders Davey Todd and Peter Hickman, both of whom delighted the crowd when they previously raced this series, will return in 2024, with a first-time visitor to New Zealand Wolfgang Schuster, from Germany, also adding to the international flavour this time around.
The 29-year-old Todd, from North Yorkshire, near Middlesborough, formerly raced motocross, enduro and supermoto before switching to tarmac in 2015 and racing the North West 200 and Ulster Grand Prix (street races in Northern Ireland). He became one of the fastest Isle of Man TT newcomers of 2018.
He won the British Superstock Champion in 2022, while Todd has also raced with distinction in the British Superbike Championships (BSB).
In addition to impressing in the superbike class on his debut showing in the Suzuki International Series last season, Todd also raced a borrowed Suzuki RM-Z450 in the Supermoto class (narrowly losing out to Whanganui’s international star Richie Dibben).
Todd said on that occasion he “thoroughly enjoyed” his first visit to New Zealand and was determined that his Suzuki International Series debut this year would not be his last. He is true to his word and surely wants to “settle a little unfinished business Downunder”.
The 37-year-old Hickman, from Lincolnshire, started TT racing at the Isle of Man in 2014. He won twice in 2018, and three times in 2019, followed by four wins in 2022 and 2023, after the resumption of TT racing after two years of having no Isle of Man TT events during COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions.
Hickman has 14 TT victories in total, which puts him sixth on the all-time winners list. He currently holds the all-time lap record at the Isle of Man TT Mountain Course, set in 2023 during the Superstock class races.
Hickman shared Suzuki International Series superbike class outright honours with Taupō’s Scott Moir during his debut appearance in New Zealand in 2018, before going on to win the stand-alone Robert Holden Memorial Feature Race at Whanganui that season.
The Suzuki International Series has become such an iconic competition in this part of the world, with the traditional post-Christmas “street fight” perhaps the jewel in the crown for motorcycle road racing in New Zealand.
It will again be celebrated as the Southern Hemisphere’s premier “round the houses” race meeting, sponsored by Suzuki New Zealand, but now with additional high-profile financial support from Oceania’s leading freight and logistics provider Mondiale VGL.
Suzuki International Series organiser Allan “Flea” Willacy said he was thrilled to be able “to work with so many great people” to make this series happen again in 2024.
“We can’t thank Suzuki New Zealand enough for the help and financial support they offer to our sport in New Zealand. We have a fantastic series and many young racing careers have been nurtured and have bloomed from this.
“Suzuki also provides us with a pace car to use on the purpose-built race circuits and around the Whanganui street circuit too and, such is their generosity, this is available for us to also use all year round as we vigorously promote the series.”
Suzuki New Zealand has supported this series since the inaugural running in 2008 – when Suzuki legend Andrew Stroud won the title – ensuring the series has enjoyed overwhelming popularity over the years.
“The inclusive nature of the international series class rules allow club riders to compete alongside seasoned campaigners and this series has been a great launching pad for many of New Zealand’s up-and-coming competitors,” Willacy said.
As an added feature this time around, the series will also include a class for the racing of adventure bikes, essentially large-capacity off-road bikes engineered also for riding or racing on tarmac.
Motorcycle road racing in New Zealand is always edge-of-the-seat excitement and, for the 2024 season, it will again be a massive adrenaline rush for all concerned, racers and spectators alike.
Willacy said the calibre of riders coming from overseas, while impressive, won’t discourage or intimidate the local riders in the slightest because “Kiwis really can fly … and they’ve proven on many occasions they are the equal of any of the top international stars”.
Suzuki International Series spectators can save money by purchasing “early bird tickets” through Ticketek online and they will also go in the draw to win an upgrade to a Suzuki VIP Pass for the Cemetery Circuit race day.
For more than half a century the barriers have been put up for this world-renowned motorcycle “street fight”, with FIM-approved spectator safety fencing laid out along the gutters of Whanganui’s public streets.
For more details, interested parties should follow the link on the www.cemeterycircuit.co.nz website.
It is also interesting to note that it is sponsorship from Suzuki New Zealand that has also allowed a Kiwi audience to enjoy watching MotoGP racing live and on-demand this season on TV Three Now.
Dates for 2024 Suzuki International Series:
• Round 1, Taupō, December 7 and 8.
• Round 2, Manfeild, Feilding, December 14 and 15.
• Round 3, Whanganui’s Cemetery Circuit, December 26.