Whakatane’ s Mitch Rees( Team Rees Honda CBR1000), who has dominated the premier class at all four rounds in the 2025 New Zealand Superbike Championships – winning convincingly in Invercargill, Timaru, at Hampton Downs and, finally, at Taupo.

WINNERS The early title winners were 1000cc superbike class hero Rees, along with Christchurch Yamaha pair Jake Lewis( Supersport 600 class) and his wife Avalon Lewis( née Biddle)( Pro Twins 650 class) and Hokitika’ s Luke Ryder had meanwhile wrapped up the Super Twins class title after Hampton Downs( although, disappointingly, only three riders contested the full series in this class). The fact that it was only a four-round series this year may have had something to do with these early wins, but all credit to these individuals anyway, who still had to produce consistent pace and have steady nerves throughout against the current cream of the crop in this part of the world. Rees and the Lewis husband and wife pair had previously won New Zealand road-racing championships, but it was a first big win for Ryder. There were other first-time title winners too, with Auckland’ s Cameron Leslie( KTM) winning the Supersport 300 class; Silverdale’ s Tyler King provisionally winning the Superlites class; Lower Hutt’ s Nixon Frost provisionally winning the Supersport 150 class and Masterton’ s Michael Wolland, teamed with Glendene’ s Vaughan Maine, winning the sidecars class title. A stand-out this year was 19-year-old Superlites class winner King, who also contested the 300 Supersport class and finished third overall in that, before being named the inaugural winner of the Cormac Buchanan Trophy for outstanding performances by a young rider.

SUPERBIKES Meanwhile, it was really only when the fourth and final round at the annual motorcycle road-racing series wrapped up at the Taupo International Motorsport Park circuit in March was the 32-yearold Mitch Rees content to sit back and reflect upon a season that saw him claim his third national title in the premier 1000cc superbike class and also win the one-race GP and TT titles as well, at Timaru’ s round two and Hampton Downs’ round three respectively. Rees previously won the superbike class title in 2021 and then again in 2023. In addition to

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