Motorsport: Young guns get their own race on Boxing Day

Sam Hewett, left, holds one of the Suzuki Gixxer bikes which will be used in the Gixxer Cup for young racers, flanked by Simon Meade and Alan Willacy.

A new 'young guns' division designed to give junior riders an entry level to the Suzuki Series and its iconic Boxing Day Cemetery Circuit will debut this December in the form of the Gixxer Cup.

The cup will be contested across the three rounds of the series, two races per round, with all competitors using the Suzuki Gixxer bike - a 154.9cc motorcycle, top speed around 140kmh, whose sport fairing version was introduced in 2015.

All the Gixxer bikes must be maintained at an equal standard for the competition and will be inspected to make sure there are no added modifications.

The grade is for riders aged 14-21, which is raised to a minimum of 16-years-old for the third round on the Cemetery Circuit due to the requirement of a licence for road racing.

While some of New Zealand's top riders are 21-years-old or younger, series organiser Allan 'Flea' Willacy said the cup is intended to be a development competition.

"You can't have won a round in the series or a national championship.

"We're trying to introduce people into the sport."

Suzuki NZ's Simon Meade said the motorcycles will retail at $5995 and will include all the necessary racing gear such as helmet and clothing.

This was a very reasonable price compared to the normal costs associated with bikes in the regular divisions, which will see riders and their teams spend thousands of dollars on multiple sets of tyres alone, Meade explained.

The Gixxer's will run on Dunlop tyres and one set will cover the whole series.

There will be $5000 worth of prize money up for grabs.

Preparations are also ramping up for the rest of the series, which starts in Taupo on December 10, then Feilding the following weekend before culminating at the Cemetery Circuit on Boxing Day.

"This year we're going to have the biggest internationals in Whanganui," said Willacy.

So far, there are 15 competitors from Europe and Australia confirmed to be coming to town to enter the Formula 1, Formula 2, Super Moto and Sidecar divisions.