Whakatāne's Damon Rees in action at the first round of the British Superbike Championship. Photo / Michael Wincott
Whakatāne's Damon Rees in action at the first round of the British Superbike Championship. Photo / Michael Wincott
After a short delay, due to Covid-19, the opening clash of the 2021 British Superbike season kicked off at Oulton Park at the weekend.
Among the riders competing was Whakatāne's Damon Rees, who is contesting his second year of racing in the UK.
Rees is riding for the Ashcourt Racing Team on a BMW S1000rr in the highly contested British National Superstock 1000 Championship.
Built into the natural contours of the countryside, Oulton Park's combination of beauty, scenery, and close racing makes it one of the most picturesque and challenging circuits to race in the UK.
The championship sees experienced riders such as reigning champion Chrissy Rouse, Isle of Man TT race winner Ian Hutchinson and seven-time Isle of Man TT winner Michael Rutter battling it out for the title.
The opening two National Superstock 1000 free practice sessions got under way on Friday in mixed conditions and Rees set a lap time of 1m 39.410s.
Saturday's qualifying sessions took place in perfect conditions, after making a few setup changes Rees set a lap time of 1m 38.532s, improving his lap times from free practice by 0.878s, and qualifying for the opening race of the season in 26th position just 1.315s off David Allingham's pole position time.
Fellow New Zealander Shane Richardson qualified in 9ninth, with a lap time of 1m 37.185s just 0.968s off pole.
The opening 14-lap race of the championship kicked off in sunny conditions late Sunday afternoon.
The start was chaotic, with Astro-JJR Racing's David Allingham grabbing the holeshot to take the lead into the first corner ahead of Batham Racing's Taylor Mackenzie.
Damon Rees is on an MW S1000rr for the Ashcourt Racing Team this season. Photo / Michael Wincott
Rees managed to make a good start and had made up several positions by the end of the opening lap. By mid race, he was involved in a three-way battle for 18th position with Leon Jeacock and James East.
Going into the final lap, Rees had moved up to 19th, which he held to the line and finished just 3.02s from a points-scoring position.
Fellow New Zealander Richardson finished in 21st position after suffering from brake fade during the race.
The eventual race winner was Mackenzie, riding for Bathams BMW. Bournemouth Kawasaki's Luck Mossey was second ahead of Rich Energy OMG Racing's Billy McConnell in third.
Disaster struck for the reigning champion Rouse who crashed out of fourth position at the final corner on the last lap.
Kiwi sensation Cormac Buchanan was also competing at the opening round of the British Superbike Championship in the Honda British Talent Cup with Microlise Cresswell Racing.
Mechanical challenges in two of the free practice sessions gave Buchanan just seven dry laps to learn the Oulton Park Circuit before qualifying, where he qualified in fourth.
Race one of the weekend saw Buchanan get a good start, after a high-speed excursion across the grass on the opening lap, Buchanan managed to rejoin at the back of the field.
He had worked his way up the order and was gaining strong ground before his front wheel was taken by another rider on lap three.
Race two saw Buchanan start from the back of the grid after his bike failed to start before the warm-up lap. he got a great start and managed to work his way through the field to fifth position before the race was red-flagged.
Buchanan sits in eighth position in the championship on 11 points after his DNF in the opening race.
The second round of the British Superbike Championship will take place north of the border at Knockhill in Scotland on July 10-11. Live timing and coverage can be found on the BSB website.
