Rees a young man in a hurry

Whakatane's Mitch Rees (Honda CBR1000SP1), a superbike name for the future. Photo: Andy McGechan/BikesportNZ.com.

To see Bay of Plenty's Mitchell Rees race a motorcycle is to take a glimpse into the future.

The 24-year-old Honda rider from Whakatane is starting out on only his second season of motorcycle road-racing and, despite his relative novice status, Rees is second in the premier Superbike class standings at the halfway stage of the 2018 nationals.

His 50-year-old father, Tony Rees, is the 2017 national superbike champion, but an injury sustained while racing in December means he's now restricted to viewing from the sideline.

To see his eldest son so effortlessly "taking up the baton" must be a huge source of pride for him.

The second of four rounds of the 2018 New Zealand Superbike Championships was held at Levels Raceway, just outside Timaru, at the weekend and young Rees again found himself fighting for the championship lead.

Though this was only his first ever visit to the Timaru track, Rees showed he was a quick learner, qualifying his Honda CBR1000SP1 fourth fastest, less than a second slower than the man who was quickest, 36-year-old former national champion Sloan Frost.

Rees then stepped up the pace, setting the fastest time in race one on Saturday, although he did have to settle for fourth at the finish line.

He then twice finished runner-up, on both occasions behind Frost, the following day and that earned him a solid grasp of the No.2 spot in the championship standings.

Frost won the weekend and leads Rees by 24 points as they prepare now for round three of the series at Hampton Downs in March, and Rees is quietly confident that he can chew into Frost's advantage.

This in the standings is Glen Eden's Daniel Mettam, 15 points further back.

"I'd definitely like to get my first win," says Rees, who has come so agonisingly close to scoring a race win this summer.

"We'll get there eventually. I'm still learning this sport.

"I don't think I'm fit enough yet and I will work on that over the coming weeks. We have a bit of a break now before the next round and I'll use that time. There's a lot of strain on the body riding these machines at speed. Trying to change direction at the end of a 300kmph straight, and still make the corner, can be quite difficult.

"But I'm pretty stoked with how I've been going. I had never been at the Timaru track until the weekend, so there was a lot for me to learn. The series heads to the North Island now and I'm much more familiar with those tracks.

"I'm second in the championship chase and the title is not beyond my reach.

"I have an awesome team behind me, not just mum and dad, but the whole crew and my (younger) brother, Damon, too."

Mitch Rees will race the opening round of the Australian Superbike Championships at Phillips Island on February 24-25, that event sharing the programme billing with the opening round of the World Superbike Championships.

"It will be cool to go over and dabble in that," he laughed.

Rees finished sixth overall in his debut season of New Zealand superbike racing in 2017 and, if his form continues, he could at least halve that number in 2018.

There will be an extended break now before the championship resumes, with North Waikato hosting round three at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park, near Meremere, on March 3-4, before it all wraps up at Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park in Taupo on March 17-18.

Class leaders after the weekend's second round of four in the 2018 New Zealand Superbike Championships are: Wellington's Sloan Frost (Superbikes); Christchurch's James Hoogenboezem (600 Supersport); Tauranga's Regan Phibbs (Supersport 300); Hamilton's Jordan Burley (650 Pro Twins); Christchurch's Nick Cain (250cc Production); Huia's Nathanael Diprose (Superlites); Rodney's Blayes Heaven (125GP); Pukekohe's Thomas Newton (GIXXER Cup); and Auckland's Peter Goodwin and Kendall Dunlop (Sidecars).

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