Hectic season ahead for Summers

Auckland's Toby Summers finds himself a victim of his own success as he sets about trying to defend his Suzuki Tri Series super motard crown this December.

The Yamaha rider, who is owner-operator of his own plumbing business, has been snowed under with work and stayed away from the race track during the Spring build up towards the series.

Even more complicated, Summers also intends to tackle an additional class by entering Formula Two on a 2011-model Yamaha R6.

Thus making defending his crown even more difficult than before, Summers remains upbeat and excited about taking on the country's motorcycle elite.

"The Tri Series has sort of crept up on me," said the 39-year-old. "I'm really keen to defend my super motard title. I was actually not going to bother just concentrate on the F2 class this season, but I got a bit of a 'gee-up' from my super motard rivals, saying I was 'scared' to take them on again. That fired me up."

"I raced an R6 in England about 15 years ago and I decided that, now my business is booming, I could afford to go racing an extra class this year."

Being his own main sponsor, Summers jokes his boss is a great bloke for giving him time off.

"The F2 campaign is really just to learn and I'll be staying out of everyone's way. I hope to get the 'training wheels' off by the end of the series."

Round one of the Tri Series is at Hampton Down next Saturday, followed by Manfeild on December 16 and the Wanganui Cemetery Circuit on Boxing Day.