2024 NZ Suzuki International Series Dates
Round Two – Manfeild
Text by Andy McGechan – Images by ASP
It is incredibly tight at the top of the premier class after the second round of three in the 2024 Suzuki International Series in the Manawatu at the weekend.
And now the competition is headed for a much-anticipated finale on the public streets of Whanganui’s world-renowned Cemetery Circuit in just 10 days’ time, December 26.
Three of the leading riders in the formula one/superbike class each suffered crashes in separate incidents at Manfeild, on the outskirts of Feilding over the weekend, meaning no one individual was able to gain advantage and sprint away in the points standings.
TT winner Peter Hickman crashed while bidding for the lead in race one on Sunday, which allowed fellow TT star Davey Todd to race away at the front of the field.
Series leader and defending champion Mitch Rees, from Whakatane, took up the chase and was starting to gain on Todd when he too crashed out in the same treacherous corner just one lap later.
Todd went on to celebrate the win and banked maximum points.
Rees’ father, Tony Rees, finished runner-up in that race and also zoomed up the standings.
The drama didn’t end there, with Todd crashing out spectacularly in the third and final F1 race of the weekend just over an hour or so later.
31-year-old Mitch Rees had qualified fastest on Saturday (worth an extra competition point), and his 1-dnf-1 race results were just enough to see him remain top of the rankings, while the “old man” of the class, 57-year-old Tony Rees, actually won the weekend with his 4-2-3 score-card, moving into second place in the F1 standings, just four points behind his son.
Todd’s misfortune in the final F1 race – giving him a 3-1-dnf score-card for the weekend – meant he slipped to third in the standings, albeit only six-points behind Rees senior.
Dual-class “ironman” Todd then took a bike loaned to him by fierce rival and friend Richie Dibben to also race in the supermoto class (for highly-modified dirt bikes).
North Yorkshireman Todd and Whanganui’s Dibben then put on another masterclass, the two men unable to be separated and battling shoulder to shoulder a long way in front of the chasing pack of riders.
Dibben qualified fastest in the supermoto class and then registered a perfect 1-1-1 for the weekend, while Todd finished 2-2-2.
“It was a great weekend, and I enjoyed battling with the guys throughout,” said the 29-year-old Todd afterwards
“I was gutted about crashing in the last F1 race though. For once I wasn’t leading after the start and so I was tucked in behind Mitch (Rees) where I thought I might be able to work him out to see where he was faster or had a weakness.
“I don’t know if it was the high track temperature or what, but when I went into the top corner, I was actually going slower than I was earlier in the day and I just lost the front end. It was a bit of a mystery to be honest.
“I guess with so many of us crashing, it keeps the points tight. I suppose we’re all just trying to put on a show for the people, eh? It will be more exciting for the fans if we’re all really close heading into Whanganui,” he laughed.
Interestingly, Dibben also leads the new Adventure Bike class after a weekend-long battle with former New Zealand superbike champion Sloan ‘Choppa’ Frost, from Lower Hutt. The two men were racing similar Suzuki V Strom adventure bikes, Dibben’s an 800cc version and Frost on board a 1050cc model.
Other class leaders after the second round of three in the 2024 Suzuki International Series at Manfeild at the weekend are Cambridge’s Morgan McLaren-Wood (formula two/Supersport 600); Auckland’s Tyler King (in both the formula three and Supersport 300 classes); Wellington’s Malcolm Beilski (Formula Sport, Senior); Whanganui’s Jeff Croot (Formula Sport, junior); Glen Eden’s Daniel Mettam (Post Classics, Pre 95, Senior); Tauranga’s Darrick Kattenberg (Post Classics, Pre 95, Junior); Hastings’ Gian Louie (Post Classics, Pre 89, Senior); Lower Hutt’s Dean Bentley (Post 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).
2024 NZ Suzuki International Series
Round Two Formula One / Superbike Results
| Pos | Competitor | Total | Q | R1 | R2 | R3 |
| 1 | Tony Rees | 60 | – | 18 | 22 | 20 |
| 2 | Alastair Hoogenboezem | 52 | – | 16 | 18 | 18 |
| 3 | Mitch Rees | 51 | 1 | 25 | – | 25 |
| 4 | Rogan Chandler | 51 | – | 15 | 20 | 16 |
| 5 | Davey Todd | 45 | – | 20 | 25 | – |
| 6 | Dave Sharp | 45 | – | 14 | 16 | 15 |
| 7 | Peter Hickman | 44 | – | 22 | – | 22 |
| 8 | Rhys Lindsay | 42 | – | 13 | 15 | 14 |
| 9 | Ray Clee | 38 | – | 12 | 13 | 13 |
| 10 | Marcus Read-Bloomfield | 32 | – | 10 | 12 | 10 |
| 11 | Isaac Markham-Barrett | 26 | – | – | 14 | 12 |
| 12 | Richard Markham-Barrett | 22 | – | 11 | – | 11 |
| 13 | Scott Moir | – | – | – | – | – |
2024 NZ Suzuki International Series
Points after two rounds
- Mitch Rees 124
- Tony Rees 120
- Davey Todd 114
- Alastair Hoogenboezem 104
- Rogan Chandler 96
- Peter Hickman 94
- Rhys Lindsay 77
- Dave Sharp 70
- Ray Clee 60
- Marcus Read-Bloomfield
2024 NZ Suzuki International Series Dates
• Round 1, Taupo, Dec 7th and 8th;
• Round 2, Manfeild, Feilding, Dec 14th and 15th;
• Round 3, Whanganui’s Cemetery Circuit, Dec 26th.
About the NZ Suzuki Series
Started in 2008, this year’s 16th annual Suzuki International Series – it skipped a year in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic – climaxes as usual with the post-Christmas public street race event on Whanganui’s famous Cemetery Circuit on Boxing Day.
The Suzuki International Series is supported by Suzuki New Zealand, Mondiale VGL, Auto Super Shoppe Tawa, Givi, I-Tools, Bridgestone tyres, Sharp As Linehaul Ltd Whanganui, TSS Motorcycles, Ipone, Inferno Design and Digital, Kiwibike Motorcycle Insurance Specialists, Cemetery Circuit Ltd.
