Damon Rees in action at the British Superbike Championship round held at Knockhill at the weekend. Photo / Michael Wincott
Damon Rees in action at the British Superbike Championship round held at Knockhill at the weekend. Photo / Michael Wincott
The second round of the British Superbike Championship returned to Knockhill in Scotland at the weekend.
The event was missing from last year's shortened calendar due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Unlike round one at Oulton Park, the second round was run over two days with only 1000 spectators able to access the circuit each day, due to local government restrictions.
The opening two National Superstock 1000 free practice sessions got underway on Saturday in dry conditions. Whakatāne's Damon Rees set a lap time of 49.450s onboard his Ashcourt Racing BMW 1000rr.
Qualifying took place later in the day in cooler conditions. Rees improved his lap times from free practice by 0.209s which qualified him for the opening race of the weekend in 21st place, just 0.804s off the pole position.
Fellow New Zealander Shane Richardson qualified in 20th, with a lap time of 49.146s, 0.731s off pole.
The pole position was taken by RICH Energy OMG Racing's Billy McConnell. He grabbed pole in the final minutes of qualifying, beating Taylor Mackenzie by 0.013s, proving how competitive the Superstock 1000 Championship is.
The opening 25-lap race of the weekend kicked off on Sunday afternoon.
Rees got a good start and managed to hold on to his starting position of 21st as the riders ended lap one.
As the race progressed Rees gradually got faster and, by mid-race, he managed to pass a number of riders and had started to move through the field. On lap 18 Rees had set his fastest lap of the weekend, 49.062s, which was 0.179s quicker than his qualifying time.
By the end of the race, Rees was involved in a three-way battle for 13th with Levi Day and Brent Harran. He eventually finished in 14th place and claimed his first points of the season.
Damon Rees has claimed his first points of the British Superbike Championship. Photo / Michael Wincott
Fellow New Zealander Richardson suffered more bad luck when he had a mechanical issue on lap eight.
The race winner Mackenzie, riding for Bathams BMW, controlled the race from the front and took his second win of the season by 2.835s ahead of Rich Energy OMG Racing's Billy McConnell in second, and GR Motosport's reigning Superstock 1000 champion Chrissy Rouse, who was a further 3.3s behind in third.
The grid places for the second 25-lap race of the weekend were determined by the rider's fastest lap in the opening race. Due to his DNF in the opening race, Richardson had to start from the back of the grid while Rees started from 15h place.
Rees got a good start off the line and managed to hold on to his starting position going into turn one. But by the end of the opening lap, he had lost four places to sit in 19th.
Going into lap seven, Rees had moved up to 16th place and looked comfortable.
Unfortunately, a massive moment on lap 11 forced him to run off track and rejoin at the back of the field in 30th. By the end of the race, Rees had repassed a number of riders to finish 20th.
Fraser Rogers won race two and claimed his maiden National Superstock 1000 Championship win ahead of McConnell in second and Rouse in third.
Dominant race one winner Mackenzie crashed out on lap 11 after setting a string of fast laps.
McConnell leads the championship on 56pts, ahead of Mackenzie in second with 50 and Rogers third on 32pts.
After securing his first points score of the season Rees is 23rd in the championship on 2 points while Richardson is yet to score.
The third round of the British Superbike Championship will take place on the iconic Brands Hatch Circuit in Kent on the weekend of July 23-25. Live timing and coverage can be found on the BSB website.
