THE 2022 SUZUKI INTERNATIONAL SERIES of time on the bike before the series began ,” he said .
“ I started racing road bikes in 2016 and my first bike was a 1000cc superbike . I was finishing like about eighth or ninth , I recall , so that wasn ’ t a bad way to get started in the sport . It ’ s different to racing motocross , which is where I began with bikes . You don ’ t get beaten up so much on a road bike .” The opening round of the Suzuki International Series at Manfeild was recognised also as the opening round of the New Zealand Superbike Nationals and racing for that title resumes with two events in the South Island , at Teretonga and Ruapuna in early January , with the final two rounds set for the North Island , at Hampton Downs and then Taupo in March .
DIBBEN HANDS SUZUKI YET ANOTHER NATIONAL TITLE The popular Suzuki International Series was back up and running again and , although it was scaled back from three rounds to only two because of problems with the track surface at the scheduled opener in Taupo in early December , the racers and fans alike responded by making the most of round two at Manfeild Circuit Chris Amon and then at the traditional series finale on the public street circuit at
Whanganui on Boxing Day . Whanganui ’ s favourite son , multi-talented racer and local Suzuki bike shop owner Richie Dibben , made the most of playing before a home crowd by putting on a master class in the supermoto battles ( riding a lightly-modified Suzuki RM-Z450 dirt bike ) and he was in superb form too ( riding a Suzuki GSX-R1000 ) in the Formula One / Superbike class . With his separate bike class races running back-to-back in Boxing Day ’ s tight programme , the pressure on the 33-year-old father-of three was intense , with him having to quickly adjust both physically and mentally to racing the two very different machines . But he coped brilliantly and he qualified fastest on his supermoto bike and then scored seemingly effortless back-to-back wins in the class . Dibben didn ’ t always snatch the lead at the start , but it wasn ’ t long until he was in front and he quickly pulled away to a clear winning margin . His two wins on Boxing Day , added to the three he scored at the Manfeild event , meant he finished the series unbeaten and easily won the class . Overall runner-up in the supermoto class was Ashburton ’ s Andrew Rudd ( GasGas ), with Whanganui ’ s James Clarke ( Honda ) finishing
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