Christmas is a time to rest, relax and catch up with friends and family … although it’s much more than that for Tokomaru’s Barry Smith.
The 63-year-old was national sidecar champion when paired up with swinger Stu Dawe in the last season that the superbike nationals were raced, in 2021, and he’s a contender to win again in 2023.
But the sidecar ace will meanwhile be doing a double shift tomorrow, December 26, racing during the day at the final round of the 2022 Suzuki International Series.
But Smith will not only be in action during the day at Whanganui’s famous Cemetery Circuit on Boxing Day, he also will be racing later that night too, competing in the prestigious Manawatu Sidecar Championships.
For this speedway event in Palmerston North, Smith will not only be switching bikes, but he will switch team-mates too, sharing racing duties this time with his son-in-law Blair Meyer, the former motocross frontrunner acting as his swinger on the stadium’s oval speedway track.
“As soon as the racing is over at Whanganui, I’m going to pack up quickly and jump in the van and drive to Palmerston North. It’s quite prestigious in the speedway calendar and there’s 20 teams competing. I didn’t want to miss out on that.
Manawatu’s Blair Meyer (on bike No.31) grabs the holeshot in this muddy race at the Woodville Motocross Grand Prix in 1999, leaping ahead of Grand Prix motocross star Josh Coppins (bike No.1) and Auckland’s Nigel Smith (No.27). Tomorrow night Meyer will be teaming up with Tokomaru’s Barry Smith to race as a sidecar swinger at the big speedway event in Palmerston North. Photo by Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ.com
“It’ll be a busy day. I don’t think anyone else has done this before, doing both events on the same day.”
It will be a night full of variety at the Robertson Prestige International Speedway, starting at 6.30pm.
Headlining the meeting is the AFC Motorcycles Manawatu Sidecar Championships, the Super Saloon Boxing Day Shoot-out, plus spectacular Superstocks and metal-crunching Stockcars along with the bedlam of the crowd favourite Demon Energy Drinks Ramp Demolition Derby.
The daredevil sidecars will be racing side-by-side for the prestigious AFC Motorcycles Manawatu title.
Fans are to expect fast and thrilling racing, with initial interest suggesting this is one of the biggest and best speedway sidecar meetings on offer this season.
With many local rider and swinger combinations who have been competing consistently this season, it’s anybody’s guess who will take the top spot on the podium.
The question to be asked, of course, is Smith capable of winning (or at least featuring near the front) in these two similar but vastly different bike codes and all within one fatiguing 24-hour period?
© Words and photos by Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ
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