ROAD NEWS
WORDS : Andy McGechan PHOTO : Geoff Osborne
ADVENTURE BIKE CLASS AT SUZUKI INTERNATIONAL SERIES
With the revs starting to build ahead of the 2024 Suzuki International Series , Suzuki New Zealand ’ s Simon Meade ( left ) is joined here by Suzuki International Series organiser Allan ‘ Flea ’ Willacy and Suzuki ’ s twotime former New Zealand superbike champion Sloan ‘ Choppa ’ Frost ( right ), along with a couple of Suzuki ’ s popular adventure bikes . The popular annual three-round Suzuki International Series , including the worldrenowned 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 . 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 . The opening round of the series at the Taupo 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 . 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 of course 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 . “ It ’ s fantastic to have this continued support from Suzuki New Zealand ,” he said . “ The support we have had from Suzuki over the years has been tremendous and this is a competition that has grown in leaps and bounds since its inaugural running in December 2008 .
78 KIWI RIDER