Congratulations to the Canterbury Car Club (CCC) and the confirmation of a second New Zealand round of the Repco Supercars Championship to be held in Christchurch. The Euromarque Motorsport Park (known as Ruapuna Raceway) in Christchurch will host the round from 2026 on.
Back in April, Taupo Motorsport Park owned by Tony Quinn, hosted the third round of the 2025 Supercars season, their second time hosting the event for the Taupo region.
A second round in New Zealand makes sense, particularly with the logistics involved in bringing the ‘Supercars entourage’ across the Tasman.
It has been no secret that both the CCC and Highlands Motorsport Park, also owned by Quinn, have been pitching for the second round.
It is reported that Supercars initially made the approach to the Canterbury Car Club, rather than the other way round. As the infrastructure logistics for a second round in the North Island were too difficult, the South Island alternative for Supercars was reported to between Christchurch and Highlands Motorsport Park in Cromwell.
Much has been said in conversation around the various motorsport paddocks, but the facts are it makes common sense to hold a round in Christchurch. Besides the drastic need for the upgrade of the track and facilities at Ruapuna, which is taking place already and planned for the near future, everything else makes it easy for teams, stakeholders and fans.
Christchurch is a major NZ city with an international airport, a seaport, plenty of accommodation, restaurants, rental cars, commercial facilities and it is straightforward to get too. Being a local, I’d say that plenty of South Islanders will make the trip from all parts of the Island.
Other stars that have aligned for a Christchurch round with the city council and promotion agencies more than keen to bring a major event to the region, particularly after recently losing a round of the international Sail GP series.
It’s an exciting time ahead for the Canterbury Car Club and they must get their side of the contract right. The ‘love’ has been shared around, let’s not drop the ball.
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