Father and son duo dominate Superbikes opening

Whakatāne’s Mitch Rees (Team Rees Honda CBR1000), who dominated the premier class at the opening round of the 2025 New Zealand Superbike Championships in Invercargill at the weekend. Photo / Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ.com

Nobody had an answer for Honda’s father and son duo from Whakatāne at the opening round of the 2025 New Zealand Superbike Championships in Southland at the weekend.

Once again included this year as part of the week-long annual Burt Munro Challenge spectacle in Southland, this first round of four in the 2025 New Zealand Superbike Championships at the Teretonga Park race circuit near Invercargill, was a happy hunting ground for Bay of Plenty men Mitch and Tony Rees.

A two-time former New Zealand champion in the premier 1000cc Superbike class, the 32-year-old Mitch Rees took his Honda CBR1000 to qualify fastest and then found himself battling with his 57-year-old father Tony at the front of the field over both days at Teretonga.

“I finished 1-1-1 in the three superbike races and it ended up a Honda 1-2 finish overall, me and Dad, for the opening round of the series. That’s pretty good,” a jubilant Mitch Rees said with a smile.

Christchurch’s Alastair Hoogenboezem was forced to settle for third overall for the weekend.

“This sets us up nicely now for the remaining rounds, with this Friday and Saturday at Timaru coming up next on the schedule,” said Mitch Rees.

“I go well at Timaru and got the lap record there last year, so I’m looking forward to racing at Levels International Motor Raceway.

“I didn’t manage to better the lap record I set at Teretonga last year, but then weather conditions didn’t really help here.

“The track was damp early on, it was cool and never really heated up,” he said.

As for Team Rees Honda’s elder statesman Tony Rees, he reports that he got “beaten up a little bit” in the third and final superbike race at Teretonga, but he was still satisfied to claim second overall with a 2-2-3 score-card for the weekend.

“I made a few mistakes and dropped from second to fourth at one stage but managed to grab third place back in the final corner.

“There was only one guy who beat me overall … and I helped produce him,” he said.

“I might be the oldest superbike class rider out there, but I’m loving every minute that I ride a bike, be it a dirt bike or a road bike, so I’m not thinking of retirement just yet,” he said.

Meanwhile, other national championship class winners at Teretonga at the weekend included Christchurch man Jake Lewis (Supersport 600 class); Auckland’s Tyler King (Supersport 300 class); Christchurch’s Avalon Lewis (née Biddle) (Pro Twins 650 class); Hokitika’s Luke Ryder (Super Twins class); Taupo’s Karl Hooper (Superlites); Whangārei’s Lincoln Wright (Supersport 150 class) and Gisborne’s Phillip Law with Angus Ravenwood (sidecars class).

The series now travels a few kilometres north to the Levels International Motor Raceway, near Timaru, this coming Friday and Saturday (February 14-15), before crossing Cook Strait to arrive at Hampton Downs, near Meremere, for round four on March 8-9 and, finally, it all wraps up at Taupō with round four on March 15-16.

It was a great Burt Munro Challenge week for the Honda crew with Tony Rees defending his title by again winning the New Zealand Hillclimb Championships at Bluff on Thursday, while Dad’s Johnny Racz took his Southland Honda CRF450R to win the famous (50-mile) Beach Race marathon at Oreti Beach on Friday.

This was Tony Rees’ fourth national hillclimb title victory, after first winning it in 2016 and then winning three in a row (in 2023, 2024 and now 2025), while fellow Honda man Racz has also been a multi-time beach race winner in the past (in 2020, 2021 and 2023).

DATES FOR 2025 NZ SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIPS SEASON:

Round 1, Feb 7-9, Teretonga Park, Invercargill (part of Burt Munro Challenge week);

Round 2, Feb 14-15 (Friday and Saturday), Levels International Motor Raceway, Timaru;

Round 3, March 8-9, Hampton Downs (MotoFest);

Round 4, March 15-16, Taupō (MotoMania).

- Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com