SUZUKI TO THE RESCUE | Bikesportnz

Suzuki New Zealand has done it again.

First they provided New Zealand with safe and reliable, fast and fuel-efficient motorcycles for the masses; then they offered you handlebar-to-handlebar racing at the New Zealand Superbike Championships; then they delighted their fans in clinching championship titles across the premier classes in that series … and now Suzuki New Zealand has done it again … giving you exactly what you want and nothing less than you deserve.

Hearing the cries of anguish when it was revealed there would be no MotoGP race action screened on New Zealand television this season, Suzuki New Zealand this week rushed to rectify matters, paying to ensure that TV3 could indeed purchase the broadcasting rights to the pinnacle of two-wheeled racing.

TV3 will broadcast delayed highlights packages, featuring MotoGP 1 and Moto GP 2 action. Specific broadcast times have yet to be announced, but viewers are advised to keep an eye on updates with listings online or in your local newspaper.

“MotoGP is a fantastic spectator sport and it would have been a huge pity if New Zealanders could not enjoy viewing the racing this season,” said Suzuki New Zealand’s general manager of motorcycling, Simon Meade.

Motorcycle race fans in New Zealand were able to travel the country earlier this year to see Suzuki riders Robbie Bugden and Craig Shirriffs battle for honours in the superbike class at the nationals. They were also able to stand trackside and watch as Christchurch’s John Ross took his Suzuki GSX-R600 to clinch the 600 supersport title.

But for so many fans of the sport in this country, it is just not possible for them to travel the world to sit in the grandstand at Sachsenring, in Germany, or peer over the pit walls at Aragon, in Spain, to watch the MotoGP action up close and live.

But, thankfully, with Suzuki New Zealand’s intervention, it is now possible for Kiwi fans to watch MotoGP from the comfort of their homes.

“These riders are the sport’s superheroes and racing MotoGP is no doubt the ambition of many young Kiwi racers here,” said Meade.

“New Zealanders have a long and proud history of racing at motorcycling’s ultimate level … we loved it in the past when we watched Taihape’s Simon Crafar or Masterton’s Aaron Slight as they raced at the top in Europe and many will remember Kiwi Suzuki hero Graeme Crosby from his international successes back in the 1970s and 1980s.

“With Rangiora racer Jake Lewis one of several young New Zealanders now racing in Europe, and each of them making a huge impression, it perhaps won’t be too much longer before the MotoGP scene will feature another Kiwi hero or two.”

Comments are closed.