Mitch Rees tops Whanganui Boxing Day Road Races

2024 NZ Suzuki Worldwide Sequence Dates
Spherical Three – Cemetery Circuit, Whanganui

Textual content and pictures by Andy McGechan

The 2024 Suzuki Worldwide Sequence wrapped up in type on Whanganui’s world-famous Cemetery Circuit on Boxing Day.

With drizzle wetting the general public road circuit early on Thursday morning, fears have been held that this may increasingly dampen not solely the twisty tarmac, but in addition the passion of the riders and spectators.

However this was not the case and, significantly because the circuit dried out brilliantly simply earlier than the primary official races, the riders responded by producing among the closest racing within the occasion’s historical past, with record-setting occasions recorded in lots of the courses, and the crowds confirmed up anyway in giant numbers for the post-Christmas blow-out.

The Cemetery Circuit road bike racing occasion was the much-anticipated finale of the three-round annual Suzuki Worldwide Sequence and it was not onerous to see why the annual motorcycling spectacle every December has an enormous following, each domestically and internationally too.

The primary two rounds have been staged on purpose-built race tracks, in Taupo and Manfeild respectively, within the two weekends previous Boxing Day and there riders had set themselves up for an exciting last showdown at Whanganui.

The general public road course at Whanganui is exclusive in world road-racing circles, affectionately thought to be the “Isle of Man of the Southern Hemisphere”, taking the rushing riders previous headstones within the inner-city graveyard, to not point out the opponents zooming near road-side curbs, throughout white-painted strains, over railway strains and close to to site visitors islands. It takes your breath away simply to consider it, though critical security measures have been in place.

It was memorable once more this 12 months as Bay of A lot father and son duo Tony and Mitch Rees led the best way within the premier Method One/Superbike class, the 2 males shading a few 2024 Isle of Man title winners from the UK, Davey Todd and Peter Hickman, because the opponents arrived in Whanganui on Boxing Day morning.

And, after an extended day of intense motion, that includes racing in 14 separate bike courses, that’s how the F1 class did find yourself, Rees junior No.1 and Rees senior No.2, adopted by worldwide stars Todd and Hickman.

This meant the just-turned 32-year-old Mitch Rees had made it 4 F1 title wins in a row on this well-liked Christmas-time collection.

Mitch Rees beforehand gained the formulation one class general within the Suzuki Worldwide Sequence in 2020, 2022 and 2023 (the collection was not run in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic).

It additionally meant he had added the Robert Holden Memorial characteristic race win to those he had celebrated in 2022 and final 12 months too, now making it three wins in a row for this prestigious trophy.

The Robert Holden Memorial trophy most likely holds a particular place within the Rees household house, with Mitch Rees’ late youthful brother Damon Rees having additionally gained it in 2020 and it has been gained their father Tony Rees on seven events (between 1990 and 2016), the now 57-year-old exhibiting that age actually is only a quantity.

Hickman gained this trophy additionally on his earlier go to to New Zealand in 2018.

There have been loads of stand-outs within the Suzuki Worldwide Sequence this 12 months, however there was no going previous the double-class wins achieved by younger Aucklander Tyler King (the 18-year-old from Silverdale who gained each the formulation three and Supersport 300 courses) and home-town hero Richie Dibben (the Whanganui 35-year-old who gained each the Supermoto class, for modified dust bikes, and the inaugural Journey Bikes class as effectively).

“It has been a unbelievable collection once more this 12 months, with nice racing all through the courses,” mentioned Suzuki Worldwide Sequence organiser Allan ‘Flea’ Willacy.

“The competitors has been good and we have now seen some nice crowds. The abroad opponents didn’t allow us to down they usually actually placed on an incredible present.”

In the meantime, German rider Wolfi Schuster and Frenchman Timothee Monot additionally added to the worldwide flavour of racing this 12 months, each of those riders entered within the Method Two/600cc class, though Monot was at Whanganui solely. Stuttgart’s Schuster completed a creditable third general within the F2 class at Whanganui, behind Cambridge’s Morgan McLaren-Wooden and Wanaka’s Seth Devereux, whereas Brittany resident Montot claimed eleventh general within the class on Boxing Day.

Class winners within the 2024 Suzuki Worldwide Sequence, which wrapped up in Whanganui on Boxing Day, are Whakatane’s Mitch Rees (formulation one/superbikes class); Cambridge’s Morgan McLaren-Wooden (formulation two/Supersport 600); Auckland’s Tyler King (in each the formulation three and Supersport 300 courses); Wellington’s Malcolm Beilski (Method Sport, Senior); Whanganui’s Jeff Croot (Method Sport, junior); Glen Eden’s Daniel Mettam (Publish Classics, Pre 95, Senior); Tauranga’s Darrick Kattenberg (Publish Classics, Pre 95, Junior); Hastings’ Gian Louie (Publish Classics, Pre 89, Senior); Decrease Hutt’s Dean Bentley (Publish Classics, Pre 89, Junior); Panmure’s Adam Unsworth and Whanganui’s Bryce Rose (F1 sidecars); Whanganui’s Tracey Bryan and Auckland’s Kendal Dunlop (F2 sidecars); Whanganui’s Richie Dibben (in each the Supermoto and Journey Bike courses).

Robert Holden Memorial Function Race

1. Mitch Rees
2. Davey Todd +1.485s
3. Tony Rees +1.912s
4. Morgan McLaren-Wooden +11.093s
5. Rogan Chandler +14.057s
6. Seth Devereux +31.448s
7. Daniel Mettam +32.322s
8. Ray Clee +32.447s
9. Wolfgang Schuster +36.035s
10. Alastair Hoogenboezem +37.953s

F1 Race One

1. Mitch Rees
2. Tony Rees +2.114s
3. Davey Todd +6.652s
4. Peter Hickman +6.810
5. Rogan Chandler +20.552s
6. Rhys Lindsay +21.677s
7. Ray Clee +28.557
8. Heath Botica +39.732s
9. Alastair Hoogenboezem +41.542
10. Mark Perry +43.638s

F1 Race Two

1. Mitch Rees
2. Davey Todd +2.176s
3. Tony Rees +2.403s
4. Peter Hickman +4.849s
5. Rogan Chandler +14.673s
6. Rhys Lindsay +15.459s
7. Ray Clee +19.613s
8. Alastair Hoogenboezem +32.751s
9. John Oliver +35.533s
10. Heath Botica +37.528s

2024 Suzuki Worldwide Sequence
F1 Superbike Factors

1. Mitch Rees 174
2. Tony Rees 163
3. Davey Todd 156
4. Peter Hickman 130
5. Alastair Hoogenboezem 129
6. Rogan Chandler 128
7. Rhys Lindsay 107
8. Ray Clee 88
9. Dave Sharp 70
10. Marcus Learn-Bloomfield 69

The Suzuki Worldwide Sequence is supported by Suzuki New Zealand, Mondiale VGL, Auto Tremendous Shoppe Tawa, Givi, I-Instruments, Bridgestone tyres, Sharp As Linehaul Ltd Whanganui, TSS Bikes, Ipone, Inferno Design and Digital, Kiwibike Motorbike Insurance coverage Specialists, Cemetery Circuit Ltd.