superbike champion Sloan Frost, immensely-
talented Whakatane brothers Mitch and Damon
Rees, the ever-consistent Al Hoogenboezem,
from Christchurch, and Wainuiomata’s Shane
Richardson, who has just returned from a
successful season of racing in the United Kingdom
– there are also several overseas visitors who
could shatter Moir’s dreams of a three-peat.
Top riders are arriving from the United Kingdom,
France and Australia, with Isle of Man and British
Superbike Championship winners among them.
British rider Richard Cooper and
Ireland’s Lee Johnston are just a couple
of the international headliners.
Cooper is the British Superbike Championships
(BSB) Superstock Champion for 2019
and his performance as a newcomer at
this year’s North West 200 was a definite
highlight of that iconic event.
Johnston is the 2019 Isle of Man TT winner,
icing on a cake to his 2019 season that also
saw him win the Scarborough Gold Cup and
also finish runner-up in the Ulster GP.
But, despite the hefty odds stacked against
him, Moir remains defiantly confident.
“I certainly believe I can win the series
again,” said the 36-year-old Moir.
“Surely the competition couldn’t get much
harder than it was for me racing against (UK
rider) Peter Hickman last year. I’ve raced
before against Lee Johnston, and I beat him
on that occasion, but I don’t know about
Richard Cooper, except that he’ll be fast.
“I know these New Zealand tracks
well, though, so that should give me an
advantage over the internationals.”
Frenchman Morgan Govignon will be here too, set
to race in the Bears (non-Japanese bikes) class.
Flying Welshman Ian Lougher makes a welcome
return to New Zealand this December.
He last raced here in 1999, making many Kiwi
friends along the way, and his credentials make
28 KIWI RIDER
him something of an icon in the sport.
Lougher has clocked up 10 Isle of Man TT wins,
eight North West 200 wins, 18 Ulster GP wins, a
record 32 Southern 100 wins (one win more than
the legendary Joey Dunlop). He has registered a
record 140 race wins at the Scarborough races
and he has lined up for 139 races at the Isle of
Man TT, more than anyone else in history.
Wellington’s Glen Skachill returns to racing after a
number of years away and he will also add spark
to the F1 class on his BMW bike, while reigning
national 600 Supersport champion Avalon Biddle
announced that she will again race at Taupo and
Manfeild and this time also make her debut on
the public streets of Whanganui on Boxing Day.
Rangiora-based Kiwi international Biddle will
race her Kawasaki ZX-6R in the F2 (600cc) class.
The Suzuki International Series also offers
races for Formula Three, Classics (pre-89),
sports bikes, super motard bikes and sidecars,
so there’s no shortage of on-track action.
The crowd-favourite GIXXER Cup class, reserved
for riders on identical 150cc Suzuki GSX150F model
bikes, is in the programme again this year with the
rider age-limit restriction lifted, meaning individuals
such as Moir, Frost and Mettam are expected
also to line up and give talented youngsters such
as Jesse Stroud (Hamilton) and Caleb Gilmore
(Whanganui) something to really think about.
The GIXXER competition, hatched in late 2017 as a
nursery ground for motorcycle road-racing – and
with the catch-phrase ‘Growing Future Champions’
– has truly been an outstanding success.
Numerous young riders, many of whom who
would perhaps previously not even have considered
tackling the sport, have now embraced racing
and are showing signs that they indeed could
be superbike champions in years to come.
There is nothing quite like the Suzuki
International Series for providing true
international class and handlebar-to-
handlebar racing is virtually guaranteed.
Head to www.cemeterycircuit.co.nz for more info.