Cemetery Circuit a major drawcard

TOOLED UP: Wanganui Cemetery Circuit and Suzuki Series promoter Alan 'Flea' Willacy (left) took delivery of his new promotional tools from Suzuki's general manager of motorcycle and ATV marketing Simon Meade yesterday.PHOTO/BEVAN CONLEY 300615WCBRCCEM01

THE WORD has spread far and wide that Wanganui is the place to be come Boxing Day.

A trip to the Isle of Man motorcycle meeting earlier this year has confirmed that for Suzuki Series promoter Alan "Flea" Willacy. The Cemetery Circuit street racing in Wanganui on Boxing Day is, of course, the final round of the series.

"It was my first time at the Isle of Man and I was totally blown away by the number and type of people who not only knew about the Cemetery Circuit and the series, but also wanted to come and join in," Willacy said yesterday.

"It seemed like everyone I talked to had heard about the Cemetery Circuit. My visit to the Isle of Man this year was three-fold - to promote the Cemetery Circuit, the series and Wanganui as a destination. The Wanganui District Council produced a pamphlet advertising all three for me to distribute and everyone wanted one."

Willacy said 21-time Isle of Man winner John McGuinness was keen to tackle the streets of Wanganui and the series.

"He was really keen and we are working towards getting him here this year. The world sidecar champion Tim Rees from Great Britain is also keen to race in the Suzuki Series, including the final leg in Wanganui and last year's series winner Horst Saiger from Liechtenstein is bringing another rider with him. All up we'll probably have about 10 internationals. We even had a French guy following us around the pits at the Isle of Man wanting to know more about New Zealand," Willacy said.

"We have been invited to join the Hampton Downs group at the CRC Motor Show in Auckland as one of the top six events hosted at Hampton Downs - that's quite an honour," Willacy said.

Suzuki New Zealand, with its headquarters in Wanganui, is in its last season of a three-year commitment to the series and yesterday Willacy took delivery of a brand new 2015 Suzuki Kizashi to help promote the event. A $180,000 factory super bike, one of Suzuki's 8-hour racing machines, was also rolled out as a promotional tool yesterday.

Suzuki NZ general manager of motorcycle and ATV marketing Simon Meade said the company was delighted to be involved in such a popular event that pumped an estimated $2.2 million into the Wanganui economy, during the final leg, on Boxing Day.

Round one of the Suzuki Series is at Hampton Downs on December 6, the second at Manfield on December 13 and finishes on Boxing Day in Wanganui.