Motorsport: Rees brothers dominate in Taupō

Whakatāne's Damon Rees was the dominant individual at Taupō on Sunday. Photo / Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ.com

With three wins from four starts, it is probably fair to say that Whakatāne rider Damon Rees was the most dominant individual racing at Taupō's Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park on Sunday.

The Team Rees Racing Honda man impressed by qualifying fastest and winning both races in the Formula Two (600cc) class during the first round of three in the Suzuki Series, setting a new lap record in the process.

He finished ahead of fellow Kiwi international Avalon Biddle, of Waimakariri, in both races with Manukau's Toby Summers finishing third overall.

However, Rees was not finished there. Perhaps even more remarkably, he qualified fastest in the 1000cc Formula One Superbike class before celebrating his maiden race win in the class.

His older brother Mitch Rees won the first of the day's two F1 races, but it was 23-year-old Damon who stepped up to win the next race, his first ever victory on a superbike.

"Mitch celebrated his first superbike race win here at Taupō last year and now it was my turn," Damon said.

"Maybe there's something about the Rees family and this track."

Unfortunately for the Rees brothers, they were each unable to finish one of their two F1 outings. Damon ran off the track in the first race and, because he was deemed by a marshal to have dropped the bike, he was not permitted to continue. Mitch failed to start the second F1 race when his bike threw a chain during the warm-up lap.

Instead, it was Wainuiomata's Shane Richardson who was credited with the overall win in the F1 class, his back-to-back runner-up finishes giving him the points advantage, with Taupō's Scott Moir taking the runner-up spot and Rangiora's Jake Lewis completing the F1 podium.

"Back-to-back wins in the F2 class was awesome ... that was certainly my plan at the start of the day," Damon said.

"I earned pole position and I was reasonably comfortable winning those races. Avalon (Biddle) was riding exceptionally, a lot better than I expected her to be riding and she certainly pushed me to begin with. But I had just the little bit more.

"The first time I'd hopped back on a 1000cc superbike was only about three weeks ago. First race didn't finish so well for me but the second one did. I hole shot the race and led from start to finish."

Damon Rees will complete this series racing both classes, but, for the upcoming nationals, he will concentrate solely on the superbike class.

The riders now head to Manfeild, on the outskirts of Feilding, for round two of the series this weekend. The series wraps up at world-famous Cemetery Circuit in Whanganui on Boxing Day.

After that it will be the five-round 2019 New Zealand Superbike Championships which kick off at Mike Pero Motorsport Park, Christchurch, on January 5-6.