It was steady as she goes for Christchurch’s Dennis Charlett on the sun-baked and then rain-drenched public streets of Wanganui on Boxing Day, but the ultimate victory was his.

The 44-year-old father-of-four and grandfather-of-two already had one hand on the main trophy for this year’s Suzuki Tri Series competition – a seven-point lead over his nearest rival, Wellington’s Sloan Frost (BMW S1000RR) – but one false move on Wanganui’s infamous Cemetery Circuit could have spelled disaster for the superbike star.

Charlett (Underground Brown Suzuki GSX-R1000) had accumulated enough points at the first two rounds of the series, at Hampton Downs and Manfeild, that he could afford to relax as the riders headed to Wanganui for the traditional Boxing Day finale.

But with tropical storm clouds gathering over the already treacherous, concrete curb-lined circuit, he also knew that nothing was guaranteed.

Charlett’s strategy was to ride sensibly and merely collect the points he needed to get the job done, although his hard charging through the field in both Formula One races seemed to defy that.

The Canterbury crusader said he rode “reasonably conservatively”, finishing fourth and third in his two F1 outings, enough to wrap up the F1 title at his first attempt.

“I’ve only ever raced a 600cc bike finished runner-up in the Tri Series in the past and so to win the title on my first ever visit to Wanganui on a superbike is pretty special.

“I knew exactly what I needed to do today. I kept a close eye on Sloan (Frost), to make sure I knew where he was on the track at all times. I knew I could afford to finish just behind him in both races and that’s what happened.

“I pushed Sloan a bit, just to let him know I was right behind him. I didn’t need to risk trying to pass him.”

Hamilton’s Nick Cole (Red Devil Racing Kawasaki ZX10R) won both races at Wanganui but he was in catch-up mode after experiencing difficulties in the earlier rounds, and he eventually finished the series only seventh overall.

Frost finished third and second on the slick streets of Wanganui and wound up three points short of catching Charlett.

Third and fourth overall in the series were fellow Suzuki stars Hayden Fitzgerald, of New Plymouth, and Ray Clee, of Auckland, with Christchurch’s Ryan Hampton (Honda) rounding out the top five.

Meanwhile, Palmerston North’s Glen Williams was a double title winner, the Suzuki ace claiming the silverware in both the Formula Three and Post Classics pre-’89 classes.

Auckland’s Jaden Hassan (Home Buyers Reports Yamaha R6) rode conservatively at Wanganui to wrap up the Formula Two class. Hassan was unbeaten at rounds one and two but he was overshadowed at Wanganui by home-town pair Ashley Payne and Jayden Carrick.

Payne won the day with 3-1 results, while Carrick took his Suzuki GSX-R600 to win the day’s first of two F2 races and came home 11th in the next race, but this was enough for Carrick to rocket from distant third overall after round two to finish a close runner-up in the final reckoning.

Wanganui’s Richard Dibben (Honda) won the super moto class by just two points from Tauranga’s Duncan Hart (Yamaha), with last season’s Tri Series super moto champion Toby Summers (Yamaha) climbing on the last step of the podium this time around.

The BEARS (non-Japanese bikes) class was won by Katikati’s Rhys Holmes (BMW 1000RR), with dual-class campaigner Frost finishing runner-up.

The day was cut short at Wanganui because of safety concerns when the skies opened with a huge downpour just before 5pm and this meant the stand-alone feature race, the Robert Holden Memorial, was not contested for the first time in the event’s 60-year history.

“It was just unbelievable and we just had to finish the day early. We are very disappointed we couldn’t get through the whole programme, but rider safety comes first,” said series organiser Allan ‘Flea’ Willacy.

© Words and photos by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com

More to follow …

Leading final standings from the 2012 Suzuki Tri Series:

Formula 1: 1. Dennis Charlett (Christchurch, Underground Brown Suzuki GSXR1000) 120; 2. Sloan Frost (Wellington, Valvoline BMW S1000RR) 117; 3. Hayden Fitzgerald (New Plymouth, Suzuki NZ GSXR1000) 106.

Formula 2: 1. Jaden Hassan (Auckland, Home Buyers Reports Yamaha NZ R6) 116; 2. Jayden Carrick (Wanganui, Suzuki GSXR600) 107; 3. Thomas Kreutz (Germany, Yamaha NZ R6) 85.

Formula 3: 1. Glen Williams (Palmerston North, Suzuki SV650) 141; 2. Gavin Veltmeyer (New Windsor, Suzuki SV650) 106; 3. Scott Moir (Taupo, Honda RS450) 100.

Supermoto: 1. Richard Dibben (Wanganui, Honda CRF450) 134; 2. Duncan Hart (Tauranga, Yamaha YZF450) 132; 3. Toby Summers (Auckland, Yamaha YZF450) 112.

Post Classic Pre ’89: 1. Glen Williams (Palmerston North, Bimota YB8 1000) 122; 2. Eddie Kattenberg (Te Awanga, Yamaha FZR1000) 121; 3. Damian Mackie (Te Puke, Suzuki RG500) 102.

BEARS: 1. Rhys Holmes (Katikati, BMW S1000RR) 106; 2. Sloan Frost (Wellington, Valvoline BMW S1000RR) 103; 3. Travis Moan (Auckland, BMW S1000RR) 101.