Damon Rees to Attack Winton at Full Speed
Damon Rees (Team Rees Racing, CBR600RR) has been enjoying a scintillating season in the Kawasaki Supersport class with third place in the standings. Now the New Zealand rider is as confident as ever, ahead of the Spokes.com.au presents Round 6 Winton Motor Raceway and he still hasn’t given up hope of a victory in the Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul Pirelli (ASBK).
You scored your first ASBK podium of the year at Morgan Park, how exciting was that result?
To be honest, I actually broke my ankle last year, so expectations were fairly low. During my first two sessions on Friday, I was riding like a brick on a bike, it was horrible! Mentally we had to fight back, due to our injury last year.
We managed to keep on plugging away to make the bike better and qualify on the front row for the first time of the year and score a second in the first race. It was excellent and I was rapt with the weekend.
How would you compare the New Zealand Superbike Championship to ASBK?
They are very different, yet similar at the same time! Both paddocks are very friendly and many of them are family friends. Everyone gets along. Even if you’re not in the same class, you can have a chat with everyone and they will give you their honest opinion. In the end, everyone loves motorbikes in both paddocks.
Team Rees Racing is a family run outfit, what’s that environment like?
It’s a great way to go racing. Obviously, I’ve got my dad Tony, my brother Mitch and we’ve got a family friend that pays his own way to help us out. He just loves coming out to the races to help us. He hasn’t been a mechanic since my dad was racing.
Your third in the standings for the Kawasaki Supersport class, what’s the goal for the rest of the season?
Both Tommy and Cru have a significant points haul and have been constantly in the top two, all year long. We’ve just plugged away, but the gap to those riders has been too large. Obviously, the goal is to finish third now, but we will try to pick up a win if we can. There are still four races to go, so you never know.
Can you take the fight to Cru Halliday?
Winton could be a big opportunity to take the fight to Cru. We’ve just come off a two-day private test at Winton the other day and he actually had a crash. It’s made us notice that the guy is human and he can throw it away himself too. That could play on his mind when we go back there in a week. I got a good look at his race pace and I think if we can make some steps forward on Friday practice, we can have a go at him.
Would you consider stepping up to YMI Superbike in ASBK?
I really enjoy riding 600’s, but I’m not settled on it. To be honest, I would rather be on a Superbike. The plan is to have one last crack at Supersport this year and I’m really glad that I have made that decision. Next year, I want to be on a Superbike and whether that is in ASBK, I’m not sure. I would love for that to be the case!
What do you think of Winton Motor Raceway?
As far as the track, its excellent. It has a bit of everything with a nice mix of flowing corners with technical sections. It all comes down to having your braking markers sorted and there is no room for error. It’s a fair track to get your head around and once you get into the rhythm, it’s really enjoyable. During the test, we made huge strides forward, so the potential is exciting for the round next week!
What do you get up to off the track?
It’s all about riding bikes! When I’m not at the track, I’m tinkering away on the bikes at our Honda dealership back at home. If there is enough daylight after we get home from work we often go for a mountain bike ride up in the hills here in NZ. We also have a motocross track in our backyard, so we are spoilt for choice
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Remaining 2018 ASBK Calendar Rounds
Round 6- Winton Motor Raceway, Benalla, VIC September 7 – 9
Round 7- Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC October 12 – 14
