Rees family hold the aces

ROUND ONE: Whakatane's Tony Rees leads the Suzuki Series superbike class after the first round in Taupo on Sunday. PHOTO/Andy McGechan

The first hands have been revealed for the 2016 Suzuki Series with the Rees family from Whakantane holding the aces after round one at Taupo's Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park at the weekend.

Multiple series and national winner, 49-year-old and veteran racer Tony Rees (Honda Fireblade) holds a one-point lead over defending Suzuki Series champ Sloan Frost (Suzuki GSX-R1000) of Wellington after the first two races of F1 Superbike competition, while his youngest son Damon enjoyed the most successful day of his road racing career winning the F2 SuperSport category.

It was commanding display from 21-year-old Damon Rees who set the fastest qualifying time, raced clear of Wellington's Shane Richardson (Kawasaki) in both races and also re-set the 600cc lap record in both races with a pace that put him within 1.5secs of the fastest big capacity machines.

Heading to round two at Manfield this weekend Rees heads the F2 leaderboard with 51 points from Richardson on 44 while Aucklander Nathanael Diprose (Suzuki) is third on 40.

Tony Rees raced his Honda CBR1000RR to 2-1 results in his two outings to top the standings in the Formula One/Superbike class, just edging out Wellington's defending series champion Sloan Frost (Suzuki GSX-R1000) by a solitary point.

Meanwhile, as one prominent Whanganui Super Motard racer dropped off the podium another newcomer has replaced him.

Tauranga's Duncan Hart (Yamaha) topped a capacity field with a second place in race one and a ride through the leading pack to win race two after a slow start.
Whanganui's Richard Dibben (Honda), a two-time series winner, was the first race winner and a race two retirement.

In the second race Dibben had the heartbreak of a broken front sprocket and losing his chain that put him out of the race when he had a 10 second break on the field.

Hart leads with 47 points from Ashton Hughes (Bulls) riding a KTM with 38 points while Whanganui's Ben Dowman slipped into third on 36. Dibben will need luck with just 26 points from round one.

Lead-swapping battles between BMW S1000RR riders Colin MacGregor (Tauranga) and Nick Southerwood (Auckland) in the Bears (British, European and American) racing saw MacGregor take two wins and lead the series with 51 points from Southerwood on 44.

This weekend's second round at Manfield will see 13-time Isle of Man TT winner Michael Dunlop (Northern Ireland) join the F1 Superbike action on a Suzuki GSX-R1000.

The third and final round is set for Boxing Day on Whanganui's Cemetery Circuit.

Class leaders after round one:

F1/Superbikes: 1. Tony Rees (Whakatane) 47 points; 2. Sloan Frost (Wellington) 46; 3= Horst Saiger (Liechtenstein) and Scott Moir (Taupo) 38.

F2/600 Supersport: 1. Damon Rees (Whakatane) 51 points; 2. Shane Richardson (Wainuiomata) 44; 3. Nathanael Diprose (Auckland) 40.

F3/Sport bikes: 1. Glen Skachill (Pukerua Bay) 26; 2. Leigh Tidman (Taumarunui) 22; 3. Gavin Veltmeyer (Auckland) 20.

Super Motard: 1. Duncan Hart (Tauranga) 47 points; 2. Ashton Hughes (Bulls) 38; 3. Ben Dowman (Whanganui) 36.

Bears (non-Japanese bikes) seniors: 1. Colin MacGregor (Tauranga) 51 points; 2. Nick Southerwood (Auckland) 44; 3. David Sharp (Auckland) 36.

Bears (non-Japanese bikes) juniors: 1. Ashton Hughes (Bulls) 51 points; 2. Jaden Galway (Masterton) 42; 3. Daniel McGovern (Wellington) 38.

Post Classic (Pre-89) senior: 1. Glen Skachill (Pukerua Bay) 51; 2. Eddie Kattenberg (Napier) 42; 3= Peter Smith (Rotorua) and Glen Eggleton (Rotorua) 36.

Post Classic (Pre-89) junior: 1. Scott Findlay (Auckland) 48 points; 2. Dean Bentley (Lower Hutt) 47; 3. Shayne Lawrey (Hamilton) 40.

Sidecars: 1. John Holden (UK) and Robbie Shorter (Tauranga) 51 points; 2. Barry Smith (Te Puke) and Tracey Bryan (Tauranga) 44; 3= Chris Lawrance and Richard Lawrance (Warkworth) and Peter Goodwin and Kendal Dunlop (Albany) 33.