- Rees finished 20th in his first Superbike TT
- The Kiwi set a new personal best lap of 127.082mph
- Rees is contesting six races this year, double his 2025 programme
Whakatāne rider Mitch Rees continued his impressive Isle of Man TT progression by completing his first-ever Superbike TT and setting a new personal best lap around the famous Mountain Course.
Mitch Rees’ rapid development around the Isle of Man TT Mountain Course continued this week as the Whakatāne rider completed his first-ever Superbike TT and set a new personal best lap in the process.
Riding for the highly respected Milenco by Padgett’s team, Rees finished 20th in Sunday’s six-lap RST Superbike TT, clocking a career-best lap of 127.082mph on the final lap of the race.
For a rider only competing in his second TT campaign, it was another significant milestone.
Rees arrived at the Isle of Man last year and immediately impressed, earning the prestigious Vernon Cooper Trophy as the event’s top solo newcomer after a series of strong performances aboard the team’s Honda Fireblade.
However, his 2025 Superbike TT ended prematurely when he crashed on the opening lap, meaning his race results came exclusively from the shorter Superstock events.
This year has been a very different story.
Learning The Long Game
The 2026 TT has seen Rees expand his programme from three races to six, including both the Superbike and Senior TT races that bookend race week.
Those races are six laps long, covering 226 miles around the unforgiving 37¾-mile Mountain Course — a completely different challenge to anything Rees experienced during his debut season.
“It didn’t start so well,” admitted Rees.
“I got arm pump by about Ballacraine on lap one, but nah, I’m really, really happy. I felt better than I thought I was going to. You just never know what to expect when you’ve never done it before.”
“But it was good. I came good around lap three and four and felt really strong and really happy.”
The comments highlight one of the biggest challenges facing newcomers at the TT.
Speed is only part of the equation. Managing fatigue, concentration and physical endurance over six laps of the world’s most demanding road course is equally important.
Building Confidence Every Lap
By the end of the race, Rees was not only still circulating strongly but producing his quickest laps of the event.
His final-lap speed of 127.082mph was enough to secure a new personal best and left him just 1.6 seconds shy of 19th-placed Finnish rider Erno Kostamo.
“The result and the lap definitely gives me some confidence going into the rest of the week,” said Rees.
“Every time we get out there is just a little bit of building up, and I’m just enjoying it to be fair. How can you not enjoy it?”
That confidence has been steadily growing throughout the fortnight.
Rees has consistently improved his pace since arriving on the Island and now sits comfortably among a group of riders edging ever closer to the established TT regulars.
A Different Challenge On The 600
One of the biggest changes for Rees this year has been his decision to compete in the Supersport class.
The former New Zealand Superbike Champion has built much of his racing career aboard litre bikes, making the Honda CBR600RR a very different proposition.
The move was made alongside team boss Clive Padgett, whose squad has a long and successful history in the Supersport category.
“The 600 is definitely a little easier to ride,” explained Rees.
“It just slows everything down a little bit.”
“I feel I’ve learned more this year just by being able to ride the Supersport. Ask anyone and they’ll tell you that the CBR600 is the easiest bike in the world to ride.”
“It just lacks a little bit of horsepower, but I’ve really been enjoying riding it and the times have been decently placed over qualifying.”
From NZ Champion To TT Regular?
Before arriving at the Isle of Man, Rees had already established himself as one of New Zealand’s top circuit racers.
The Bay of Plenty rider has multiple New Zealand Superbike Championships under his belt and has been a regular frontrunner in domestic competition for years. This year saw him sit out of the NZSBK to concentrate on this new challenge, and now, at 32, it appears his focus has increasingly shifted toward international road racing.
And while many newcomers simply aim to finish races and gain experience, Rees’ progression suggests bigger goals may lie ahead.
For now, though, the objective remains simple: keep learning, keep building speed and keep ticking off milestones around the world’s most famous road racing circuit.
Based on what we’ve seen so far, he’s doing exactly that.
Pics: IOMTT
