THE 2022 SUZUKI INTERNATIONAL SERIES
and he then once more backed that up later in the day by winning all three of the event ’ s premier races . He won both Formula One / Superbikes races at the iconic annual event on the holiday Monday and also clinched the Robert Holden Memorial trophy . The Bay of Plenty man had also won the series in this class when the competition last ran in December 2020 – it skipped last year due to the pandemic – although it was his younger brother Damon Rees ( Honda ) who secured the Robert Holden Memorial trophy on that occasion . This makes it a real family affair in the Robert Holden Memorial title-winning stakes , with Mitch and Damon ’ s father , Tony Rees , also a previous winner of the key trophy . Tony Rees , however , still has bragging rights in family discussions because he has won the Robert Holden Memorial trophy on no less than six separate occasions ( in 2000 , 2001 , 2002 , 2014 , 2015 and 2016 ). In winning the second F1 / Superbike race of the day at Whanganui , Mitch Rees also secured the New Zealand TT title for the season . His performance was a stand-out and so was his bike , with fresh graphics applied to make it a factory replica of the bike raced in the 1980s by American Grand Prix legend and three-time world champion Freddie Spencer . The 29-year-old led from start to finish in both the F1 / Superbike races , winning the first race by nearly five seconds from eventual runner-up Richie Dibben and beating local star Dibben to the chequered flag by just over a second in race two ( in the fight for TT title honours ). Rees was second into the first turn in the Robert Holden Memorial feature race , but passed fast-starting Upper Hutt rider Rogan Chandler early on lap one and quickly shot off into the distance , eventually winning that race by more than seven seconds from Chandler . “ It might have looked easy but nothing is really ever easy when you race motorbikes . Like the other riders too , no doubt , I had not had a lot
30 KIWI RIDER