Thousands flock to Whanganui’s annual Cemetery Circuit

James Clarke and Will Young prep for their race for Cemetery Circuit in Whanganui.

The rain eased and thousands flocked to the streets for the annual Cemetery Circuit bike races.

The Suzuki International Series reached its finale in Whanganui on Thursday afternoon and event organiser, Allan “Flea” Willacy, said the event was turning into a success despite the wet conditions this morning.

“There’s a great crowd, the sun’s out, plenty of people here,” he said.

There’s been fantastic racing and it’s actually surprising how big the crowd is today.

“Thousands and thousands of people here at the bike meeting enjoying themselves.”

Willacy has been busy making sure the event goes as planned and is pleased that the crowd were not stifled by the wet.

He said he is particularly happy with those who have come from out of town to see the iconic street races.

“Most of the top guys are winning as predicted,” he said.

The event was expected to wrap up around 5pm.

See tomorrow’s Chronicle for more coverage.