The Supercars are descending on Taupō again. Photo / Mark Horsburgh, Edge Photographics
The Supercars are descending on Taupō again. Photo / Mark Horsburgh, Edge Photographics
Taupō has caught Supercars fever ahead of this weekend’s championship round: the town centre has been decorated, community events are organised and the famous #LoveTaupo sign has received a super spruce-up.
It looks like everything is good to go as drivers have touched down in New Zealand this week – about 240 tonnes of equipment worth $40 million has already arrived, via sea freight last week.
To set the mood for the third round of the 2025 Repco Supercars Championship, the ITM Taupō Super440, drivers will descend on the CBD as part of the Track to Town event tomorrow.
The convoy will leave Taupō International Motorsport Park at 3.45pm, drive into town for a free autograph session for fans and head back to the race track at 5pm.
Some roads around Te Ātea-Tapuaeharuru on Roberts St will be closed for this so everyone can safely view the cars and enjoy the event.
Opening practice starts at 12.10pm on Friday, followed by two 120km sprint races on Saturday and a full 200km race on Sunday.
The driver who scores the most points across this weekend will be awarded the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy, named after the late New Zealand Supercars racer who died of cancer in 2011.
Matt Payne, Andre Heimgartner, Jaxon Evans, Richie Stanaway and Ryan Wood will be the sole Kiwis on the grid eyeing the trophy, which went to Australian driver Anton De Pasquale last year.
Heimgartner won the inaugural Taupō race in 2024, the Brad Jones Racing driver becoming just the fourth New Zealander to win a Supercars race on home soil. However, he ended up finishing second on the podium that weekend.
Now he hopes “natural progression” will see him atop the points tally this year.
Richie Stanaway (from left), Jaxon Evans, Ryan Wood, Andre Heimgartner and Matt Payne will be the sole Kiwis on the grid. Photo / Mark Horsburgh, Edge Photography
Winning the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy would be special to him, as Richards used to drive the No 8 Supercar for Brad Jones Racing – the same number Heimgartner races with today.
Meanwhile, Payne and 19-year old teammate Kai Allen make up the youngest pairing in Supercars since 2007. Hailing from Pukekohe, Payne scored his maiden Supercars pole position 12 months ago in Taupō – but narrowly missed out on the podium.
Defending Supercars champion Will Brown, who was the overall race winner at Taupō in 2024, leads the points heading into this weekend, just ahead of Cam Waters.
Aside from the Supercars, New Zealand-based racers in the Central Muscle Cars, Toyota 86 and Super V8s classes are also set to take to the track.
The event will be broadcast live on Sky Sport. Tickets are available online via Supercars.com and Ticketek.
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) said visitors should be prepared for heavy traffic on the roads, as the event is expected to draw a crowd of over 67,000 over the three days.
NZTA Waikato journey manager Andrew Brosnan said all non-essential maintenance activity would be paused on SH1 and SH5 in the central North Island over this period, however there may be some active work sites with temporary speed limits in place.
When spectators arrive in Taupō, parking for the event at the Motorsport Park is only available using the SH1 Interchange with Centennial Drive.
There is no access from SH1 on to Broadlands Rd. Traffic management will be in place to manage traffic flows.
A park-and-ride service for ticket holders is available at Kaimanawa Reserve on Rifle Range Rd. Parking is limited so Taharepa Reserve will be used as an overflow car park. Buses will run continuously and are free for ticket holders.
In support of the racing, there are also a few community events.
There will be face-painting and free family-friendly movie screenings of Cars (Friday) and Turbo (Saturday) at Te Ātea-Tapuaeharuru at 5.30pm.
Heimgartner and Evans, along with Australian teammates Macauley Jones and Bryce Fullwood, spent Wednesday morning speaking to local students about their careers and what it takes to be a Supercars driver.
