Mitch Rees tops Whanganui Boxing Day Road Races

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

Textual content and pictures by Andy McGechan

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

With drizzle wetting the general public avenue circuit early on Thursday morning, fears had been held that this will dampen not solely the twisty tarmac, but additionally the passion of the riders and spectators.

However this was not the case and, notably because the circuit dried out brilliantly simply earlier than the primary official races, the riders responded by producing a few of the closest racing within the occasion’s historical past, with record-setting instances recorded in most of the lessons, and the crowds confirmed up anyway in massive numbers for the post-Christmas blow-out.

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

The primary two rounds had 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 closing showdown at Whanganui.

The general public avenue 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 traces, over railway traces and close to to visitors islands. It takes your breath away simply to consider it, though critical security measures had been in place.

It was memorable once more this 12 months as Bay of Loads father and son duo Tony and Mitch Rees led the best way within the premier Formulation 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 a protracted day of intense motion, that includes racing in 14 separate bike lessons, 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 fashionable Christmas-time sequence.

Mitch Rees beforehand gained the formulation one class total within the Suzuki Worldwide Collection in 2020, 2022 and 2023 (the sequence was not run in 2021 as a result of COVID-19 pandemic).

It additionally meant he had added the Robert Holden Memorial function 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 in all probability holds a particular place within the Rees household residence, 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 Collection 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 lessons) and home-town hero Richie Dibben (the Whanganui 35-year-old who gained each the Supermoto class, for modified filth bikes, and the inaugural Journey Bikes class as properly).

“It has been a implausible sequence once more this 12 months, with nice racing all through the lessons,” stated Suzuki Worldwide Collection organiser Allan ‘Flea’ Willacy.

“The competitors has been good and we’ve seen some nice crowds. The abroad opponents didn’t allow us to down and so they actually placed on a fantastic 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 Formulation Two/600cc class, though Monot was at Whanganui solely. Stuttgart’s Schuster completed a creditable third total within the F2 class at Whanganui, behind Cambridge’s Morgan McLaren-Wooden and Wanaka’s Seth Devereux, whereas Brittany resident Montot claimed eleventh total within the class on Boxing Day.

Class winners within the 2024 Suzuki Worldwide Collection, 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 lessons); Wellington’s Malcolm Beilski (Formulation Sport, Senior); Whanganui’s Jeff Croot (Formulation Sport, junior); Glen Eden’s Daniel Mettam (Submit Classics, Pre 95, Senior); Tauranga’s Darrick Kattenberg (Submit Classics, Pre 95, Junior); Hastings’ Gian Louie (Submit Classics, Pre 89, Senior); Decrease Hutt’s Dean Bentley (Submit 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 lessons).

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 Collection
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 Collection 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.