New class inspires young racers
Astroke of genius could be the best way to describe the inaugural Gixxer Cup motorcycle road-race competition this season. It was such a success that we may one day hear names such as Newton, Ross, Fountain, Walker and Fuller uttered with the same reverence as multi-champion senior stars such as Tony Rees, Sloan Frost, Andrew Stroud, Dennis Charlett or Chris Haldane.
Introduced this season as a new class of racing, designed especially to encourage young riders to explore the possibilities of road-racing, the seven-round Gixxer Cup competition was a breath of fresh air.
All riders in the new class were mounted on identical Suzuki GSX150F bikes, entry was restricted to riders aged between 14 and 21 years, and, with no modifications allowed to the bikes, racing was guaranteed to be close and exciting.
And it was, with seven different race winners in this first season.
The production racing class — with the tagline “growing future champions” — was created to provide a springboard for young riders, hopefully to propel them towards a successful racing future at higher levels.
This year’s introductory series kicked off at the three-round prenationals Suzuki Series in December and continued on throughout the four-round 2018 New Zealand Superbike Championships — starting in Christchurch in January, with rounds following at Timaru, Hampton Downs and, finally, in Taupo in March.
The seventh and final round at Taupo’s Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park produced more of the same thrill-a-minute cut-and-thrust action that had introduced the competition at round one 14 weeks earlier.
Riders were to discard their one worst-scoring round of the series, which helped to ensure a nail-biting finish, and so it proved at Taupo, with the main trophy still undecided as riders lined up for the 17th and final Gixxer Cup race late that Sunday afternoon.
There was little to separate the leading riders on the points table, just as there was on the race track, and the chopping and changing of positions, shoulder-rubbing and handlebar-banging happened up until the final lap.
Pukekohe shop fitter Thomas Newton eventually won the title ahead of Paeroa’s Blake Ross and “the West Coast warrior”, Greymouth’s Clark Fountain, although any number of riders could have taken a podium spot, including Wanganui’s Tarbon Walker and Taupiri’s Zak Fuller.
Newton, who recently turned 21, “did a bit of motocross” when he was younger, but this season was his first on a road-race circuit.
“I have been riding bikes on the road for a couple of years, but not racing them,” he said.
“It was close racing and must have been one of the best classes for spectators to watch.
“I’ve made a lot of new friends in this class and in the rest of the paddock. It’s been awesome.
“I hope to race in the Supersport 300 class next season, but we’ll have to see about sponsorship and all that kind of thing first.”
Several of the Gixxer Cup stars this season are motivated to continue racing, already making plans to enter the bigger bike classes next season, while others have vowed to give the cup another crack in 2018-19.