As you may have seen or read from our various social media channels it is with great sadness that our rider and dear friend Damon Rees passed away on Friday June 30th.
Damons illness was very sudden and non racing related. Unfortunately despite the best efforts of everyone at Hull Royal Infirmary he passed away peacefully with his wife Talia by his side.
Having agreed to join Binch Racing in February this year the 28 year old native New Zealander was a pleasure to work with. His racing pedigree was there for all to see but there was a lot more to Damo than just being a racer.
He came to the UK four years ago to chase his dream of racing on the BSB circuit having produced some superb results and subsequent championship victories back home.
Racing is embedded in the Rees family as he followed in the foot steps of father Tony and brother Mitch. Damon began racing motor-cross at age of four before moving into road racing aged 19.
His infectious personality, sharp wit and unrivalled enthusiasm saw him click with our team instantly.
In this, our first competitive year in the highly contested Supersport class “Damo” finished all his races in the top ten giving us a championship 10th place position before his untimely passing.
Last weekend we took his bike to Snetterton and it was displayed with his 2022 Ashcourt Racing machine in the awning. We placed some donation buckets next to photos of Damo. Spectators and fans of BSB donated £700 which will go to Cardiomyopathy UK. This is a charity that Talia is running the Great North Run for later in the year. Cardiomyopathy UK are raising awareness of the heart condition that Damo had, how to spot symptoms with research being done into medicines and possible cures.
We were very pleased to have the Rees family with us at the weekend. Wife Talia, Father Tony, Mother Vicky, Brother Mitch and his fiance Mihi made the journey down from Beverly near Hull to be with us. Despite a few tears and deep breathes on arrival we were all soon gathered around his bike regaling stories and fond memories of Damo.
The family wanted to whole team to know how much Damo loved being a part of Binch racing. Damo would call home to New Zealand once a week to keep in touch. He would often mention how much he enjoyed the family atmosphere within the team, how happy he was and how he enjoyed meeting sponsors and everybody involved with the team.
Father Tony and Mother Vicky made a point of saying that Damo told them that Binch Racing was the best team he had ridden for. Our approach to racing felt similar ro racing back in New Zealand when he raced with his family at Rees Racing. Certainly something we will cherish for a long time to come.
Shortly before racing got underway at Snetterton on Saturday the race organisers asked us to join the racing paddock on the grid. The BSB community wanted to pay tribute to Damo with a moment of reflection and appreciation. We were overwhelmed by the attendance and extremely grateful to all the riders and race teams who joined us to pay their respects.
On Monday the whole team travelled to Sproatley in Hull for Damons funeral. We joined his family and friends from inside and outside of his racing life for a very emotional yet colourful service that celebrated his determination, his passion for motorcycle racing and his success.
Damo will always hold a very special place in our hearts and we will always remember our short time racing together. ❤DR92
We have been urged by the Rees family to continue racing in Damo’s honour. We are currently contemplating what the next chapter might look like for our Supersport venture. We will update you in due course.
On behalf of all the boys and girls at Binch Racing thank you very much indeed for your continued support.