03-05-2025
- Automotive
- Belfast Telegraph
New Zealander set to make North West 200 debut
The 31-year-old will join 2024 treble winner Davey Todd in the Milenco by Padgett's Racing Team and will ride a 1000cc Honda Superstock machine in the Superbike and Superstock races.
Rees beat Todd and top road racer Peter Hickman at the Wanganui Cemetery Circuit in New Zealand last Boxing Day and has been granted the opportunity to step up his road racing involvement this year at the NW200 and Isle of Man TT by vastly experienced team boss Clive Padgett.
'I enjoy street circuits,' said Rees, who visited the Triangle course on the north coast with Todd last week.
'I found them terrifying at first but I learned to make them flow and I started to have some fun.
'These roads are very different to the New Zealand tracks though - none of them at home are this long or as fast.'
Rees' brother Damon passed away in 2023 after battling a non-racing related illness after coming to the UK to compete in the British Supersport Championship.
He will ride with the number 92 plate used by his late brother, but has not set himself any big goals in his first year at the event.
'I have no expectation of any kind of a result for this year,' he said.
'There is so much to learn so I want to do that with minimal risk and come back next year with a plan.'
