REES GIVES FANS A GL
T
he sport is in a healthy state and excited
race fans at Taupo’s fourth and final
round of the superbike nationals were
treated to a glimpse into the future. With
his 2017 national superbike champion
father Tony Rees watching on from
pit lane, 25-year-old Mitch Rees experienced a
breakthrough weekend at the Bruce McLaren
Motorsport Park facility on March 17-18.
In only his second season of racing superbikes, Mitch
Rees celebrated his first ever superbike race win
during day one of racing on the Saturday and then,
to prove that was no fluke, he scored an even more
impressive come-from-behind win the following day.
His 1-3-1 score-card for the weekend was easily
enough to earn him the top podium spot for
this final round and it also cemented his place
as national No.2 in the class for 2018, finishing
the series behind 36-year-old Wellington rider
Sloan Frost (Red Baron Suzuki GSX-R1000A).
That Rees (Honda CBR1000SP1) should be
winning superbike races so early in his career
probably surprised nobody, least of all himself,
because he has certainly been “knocking
2017 champ Tony Rees with son
MItch - the start of a legacy?
on the door” the previous few months.
“It was good to get that first win,” said
Mitch Rees. “I have been battling with these
top guys for a while and it was probably
just a matter of time, to be honest.
“I’ve had a great coach with dad (Tony) always
being there for me. He’s a great motivator
and gives me confidence that I can do this.
“I’ll be heading back over to Australia now
to race. I raced round one of their series
24 KIWI RIDER