Cemetery Circuit roars back into life after one year absence

Alice Ireton with and Tamara Bennetts at Cemetery Circuit. Photo / Finn Williams

People from across New Zealand and further abroad made their way to Whanganui once again for the return of the Cemetery Circuit after a year of absence.

This year’s event was the 70th time motorcycles took to the inner city street circuit.

The event was called off for the first time in its history in 2021 due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Whanganui Motorcycle Club secretary Tamara Bennetts said the decision to call off the event was a hard one, so it was fantastic to have it back for 2022.

She and her fellow clubmates were out to support friends taking part in the racing and to see the fruits of the club’s labour in putting on the event.

“It’s an awesome day, we just get to hang out with our crew and a lot of our friends are riding as well so we’re here to support them,” she said.

In particular, she was close friends with local racer Richie Dibben who was competing in the motard and superbike classes.

She had been at the race for the past 10 years and had not had life events stop her from making it out to the track.

“I was even here when I was nine months pregnant,” she said.

“My mother drove down from Eltham this morning to look after my children so we could come out,” she said.

Amy and Mark Gammon were at the races after coming to town from Brisbane to visit family.

“[We’re here] just for a good time, to see the bikes and spend time with family,” Amy said.

For Amy, it was her seventh time at the event, while it was Mark’s third time.

Amy and Mark Gammon. Photo / Finn Williams.

They said the races were good for the town so they were glad they could see them this year.

“We’re very happy it’s back on this year,” Amy said.

“It’s good for the town, everyone enjoys the day out.”

Amy was looking forward to watching the sidecars, while Mark was hoping to see a Yamaha V-Max race, as he owns one back in Australia.

Bevin and Ben Lealand rode their motorbikes down from New Plymouth to watch Cemetery Circuit.

The trip had become something of a holiday tradition for the two.

“We’d come here every year if we could,” Bevin said.

Bevin and Ben Lealand. Photo / Finn Williams.

They couldn’t remember how many times they’d been at the races, but they had come down every year they had been able to and were glad to be back after last year.

The Orange Café & Bar Owner Vik Handa said they had been packed throughout the day since 8am, with most patrons coming from out of town.

“Most of the people are from out of town, especially people who came for the race,” he said.

People were waiting to get a coffee before the café had even opened.

“We were setting up the umbrellas outside and people were standing [outside] because they want to have a coffee.”

The café had to stop taking coffee orders for 30 minutes to deal with a backlog, with food also flying out of the door.

“We sold out our whole cabinet... more than 80 items and we sold out everything and more than 200 items from the kitchen as well,” Handa said.

• For full racing coverage - see Wednesday’s Chronicle.