Supercars teams and drivers will today board flights to head across the ditch for the 2025 ITM Taupō Super440, the third round of the 2025 Repco Supercars Championship season.
This week’s event marks Supercars’ second visit to Taupō International Motorsport Park, where Kiwi Matt Payne will race on home soil as one of five New Zealanders on the Supercars grid.
The two-time race winner is joined by countrymen Andre Heimgartner and Jaxon Evans from Brad Jones Racing, 2023 Bathurst 1000 winner Richie Stanaway, and sophomore hot shot Ryan Wood flying the NZ flag.
Payne and 19-year old Grove Racing teammate Kai Allen make up the youngest teammate pairing in Supercars since 2007, with both speedy youngsters eager to make an impression this weekend.
Hailing from Pukekohe and a childhood friend of Kiwi Formula One driver Liam Lawson, Payne scored his maiden Supercars pole 12 months ago in Taupō, but narrowly missed out on the podium on Sunday.
South Australian prodigy Allen is embarking on his first full Supercars season with plenty of hype. The 2023 Super2 Series champion has impressed with his speed in the first two rounds of the season, but is yet to strike a breakout result.
Allen visited New Zealand for the first time last month, cutting laps in a Toyota 86 at Taupō to familiarise himself with the 3.2-kilometre circuit ahead of this weekend’s event.
This year’s event will feature three Supercars races: two 120-kilometre races on Saturday and one 200-kilometre contest on Sunday.
Fans in Taupō can get up close and personal with the full fleet of Supercars this Thursday as Track to Town returns to the event.
In 2024, Supercars held its first ever full-field Track to Town in Taupō, where all 24 entered cars drove from the circuit into Taupō CBD, where drivers took part in a full-field signing session on the shores of Lake Taupō.
This year’s Track to Town will leave the circuit at 3:45 p.m. NZST, with the full-field signing scheduled to run from 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m., when cars will be driven back to the circuit.
The driver who scores the most points across this weekend will be awarded the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy, named for the late Kiwi Supercars racer who drove for Brad Jones Racing before succumbing to cancer in 2011.
On-track action at the ITM Taupō Super440 begins Friday, tickets and corporate hospitality for the April 11-13 event can be purchased via Supercars.com and Ticketek NZ.
Supercars’ return to New Zealand will be broadcast live on Foxtel in Australia and Sky Sport in New Zealand, with live streaming available via Kayo.
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