Suzuki Series ready to stun by : Terry Stevenson
Sparks will fly during the opening round of the 2017 Suzuki Series at Taupo ’ s Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park on December 10 . Spread over three rounds during December at Taupo , Manfeild and Whanganui , New Zealand ’ s richest motorcycle series has attracted a huge overseas contingent with top riders from the UK , Germany , Australia and Ireland . Isle of Man TT frontrunners Conor Cummins ( Isle of Man ), Lee Johnston ( Ireland ) and fivetime world sidecar champion Tim Reeves ( UK ) headline the 2017 international contingent for a share of the $ 36,800 Suzuki Series prize-money . Although , they will all need to beat our fastest NZ riders on home soil , and if the last few years are anything to go by their job won ’ t be easy . As well as the prized Suzuki Series win , all the top riders want their name engraved on the treasured Robert Holden Memorial trophy . And there is only one place they can get it on one day of the year , which is Boxing Day , at Whanganui ’ s fabled Cemetery Circuit . But there is no simple way to win it , there ’ s no easy street for those who travel half way around the world to New Zealand , or even for the kiwis - because they all have ride faster than legend Tony Rees , who has won it the past three years running . He holds the lap record of 49.052 seconds and the last time Rees was beaten around the Cemetery Circuit was in 2014 when Scott Moir won race two . The Whakatane-based racer is also the defending Suzuki Series champion and has been riding his Honda Rider Insurance CBR1000RR quicker than ever , which is motivation enough for any number of local riders to push the 50 year old off the top step .
First off the rank will be 2015 Suzuki Series champion Sloan Frost on his Fujistu TSS Red Baron Suzuki GSXR1000 . Frost has been honing his skills across the Tasman in the Australian Superbike championship , so expect the Wellingtonian to bring his A game from race one at Taupo . To say the F1 Superbike field is rich in talent is an understatement . Scott Moir was fourth overall last year and the Taupo rider has the goods to make the top step on his CD van der Meer Builders Suzuki GSXR1000 as he improves year on year . The rider
Tony Rees almost owns the Robert Holden Memorial trophy
to watch this season is Aucklander Daniel Mettam , who won the 2015 F2 600 series and was a fighting fifth on his Team RCM Suzuki GSXR1000 superbike last year . Expect race wins from the 21-year-old . Hayden Fitzgerald ( New Plymouth ) is back racing a Team bLU cRU Yamaha R1 in F1 Superbike and is always fast on the big bikes . Perhaps a dark horse for race wins this year will be Tirau-based Dillon Telford . The 26 year old raced in Italy during the northern summer with some success and brings invaluable experience to the series , as well as the same quick Aprilia RSV4RF he raced in Europe . Whanganui ’ s Jayden Carrick is also very fast , particularly around the Cemetery Circuit , this year he is racing a Kawasaki ZX10R , as is Clivebased Adam Chambers . Glenn Skachill returns
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