Just two days remain before on-track action begins at the 2025 ITM Taupō Super440, where Auckland-born Andre Heimgartner will look to take home the coveted Jason Richards Memorial Trophy.
Named for the late Richards, the trophy is awarded to the Supercars driver who scores the most points in Supercars’ annual visit to New Zealand.
Heimgartner finished third in the final tally in 2022, second last year at the inaugural Taupō event, and hopes “natural progression” will see him atop the points tally this weekend.
The 29-year-old took a sensational homegrown win in the inaugural Taupō race in 2024, becoming just the fourth New Zealander to win a Supercars race on home soil.
The Jason Richards Memorial Trophy holds special meaning to Heimgartner and his Brad Jones Racing team. Richards drove the No. 8 Supercar for BJR prior to his passing in 2011, the same number Heimgartner races today.
BJR teammate and son of Brad Jones, Macauley Jones, shares Heimgartner’s added sentiment around the JR Trophy.
Jones has also predicted intense and mixed up racing this weekend, where the new-for-2025 Super440 will be used for the first time.
Earlier today, the BJR squad took time out of their busy schedule today to visit Bruce McLaren Intermediate School in Auckland.
After a morning of media commitments on live national television, kiwi duo Andre Heimgartner and Jaxon Evans, along with Australian teammates Macauley Jones and Bryce Fullwood, spent the morning speaking with students about their careers, their journey to Supercars, and what it takes to compete at the highest level of Australian motorsport.
Teams will contest two 120-kilometre races on Saturday, with one race on the Dunlop Soft tyre and another on the Dunlop Super Soft tyre, where the different compounds are expected to shake up the order between the two races.
Sunday’s action will feature a 200-kilometre Supercars race, with the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy to be awarded post-race.
Fans in Taupō can get up close and personal with the full fleet of Supercars tomorrow 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.
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 Sky Sport in New Zealand.
SUPERCARS TRACK SCHEDULE (LOCAL NZ TIME)
Friday April 11
| Start | Finish | Category | Duration | Session |
| 12:10 | 12:40 | Supercars | 0:30 | Practice 1 |
| 14:55 | 15:25 | Supercars | 0:30 | Practice 2 |
Saturday April 12
| Start | Finish | Category | Duration | Session |
| 10:25 | 10:55 | Supercars | Qualifying Race 8 | |
| 11:05 | 11:35 | Supercars | Qualifying Race 9 | |
| 12:50 | Supercars | 37 laps or 1 lap after 14:03 | Race 8 | |
| 16:05 | Supercars | 37 laps or 1 lap after 17:18 | Race 9 |
Sunday April 13
| Start | Finish | Category | Duration | Session |
| 10:45 | 11:15 | Supercars | Qualifying Race 10 | |
| 12:50 | 13:30 | Supercars | Top Ten Shootout | |
| 15:05 | Supercars | 61 laps or 1 lap after 16:53 | Race 10 |
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