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.

When 2024 Isle of Man champion and former Robert Holden Memorial feature race winner at Whanganui, Britain’s Peter Hickman, crashed while making a bid for the lead in race one on Sunday, it allowed fellow 2024 Isle of Man champion Davey Todd, also from the UK, to race away.

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 bank maximum points, which also meant he’d taken over the series lead in this class for 1000cc bikes, while Rees’ father Tony Rees finished runner-up in that race and also zoomed up the standings.

But 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.

The 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 and he has now moved into the No.2 spot 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 back down from first 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.

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.

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).

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.

DATES FOR 2024 SUZUKI INTERNATIONAL SERIES:

• Round 1, Taupo, Dec 7 and 8;

• Round 2, Manfeild, Feilding, Dec 14 and 15;

• Round 3, Whanganui’s Cemetery Circuit, Dec 26.

-By Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com