The Cemetery Circuit Ride 2020

Heading over to Whanganui for racing on Boxing Day has become a bit of ritual for many, and none more so than a number of Blue Haze members. The usual routine is to meet in town and make our way to the Church Yard cafe in Sanson for quick cuppa before heading over to the races. After waiting at Memorial Park for a while and a no show I headed for Sanson and caught up with everyone there. It was great to see the lineup of rattlers and friends outside the cafe with a bevy of Suzuki triples on show. Bruce and Stuart had there GT750 J and K's parked up with Barry and PC's GT 550s. Neat to see Dion on his NS400R and Jamie bringing out the RG400 for a spin as well. Also out for a spin was John M and Kenny on the BMW Rockstar. 

The journey to Whanganui was with plenty of traffic and once there paying a few dollars for secure parking and bagging of gear service and then into the circuit. With the event being a part of the the Suzuki Tri-series and one of the few street circuit meetings left in the world it was a shame the international contingent wasn't a part of it as it always adds a certain extra 'flavour' to the racing. In spite of this it was definitely a great day out with a real festival feel to the occasion as many of the locals make a real day of it with chilly bins full of food and refreshments.

The racing was tight and exciting. The Formula 1 and 2 provided some real fast action with the Rees brothers showing how it is done. That much power on this sort of circuit certainly seems disproportionate. The Formula 3 was as exciting as always with the Post Classics also providing some tight racing. Everyone enjoyed the sidecar racing which has always been popular at Whanganui. The Gixxer cup was also very close and so neat to see so many young ones keen to go racing. After all, they are the future of the sport. 

The real beauty with this event is being able to get close to the racing and for those of us with a photographic bent an opportunity to full our frames with some great action shots. It is something very difficult to do at the likes of Manfeild where safety dictates plenty of distance between the action and spectators. Long may this event last.