Taupō Super 440 starts today; town turns out for Thursday Track to Town

After a long trip across the Tasman Sea and down the North Island to Taupō, Supercars action in Aotearoa begins today at the ITM Taupō Super 440.

It marks the start of the first-ever ITM New Zealand Double Header, with back-to-back race events scheduled in Taupō and the inaugural ITM Christchurch Super 440 next weekend in the south.

Supercars will hold two practice sessions today before racing gets underway tomorrow at Taupō International Motorsport Park.

There will be six Supercars races over the coming nine days, a motorsport paradise for Kiwi Supercars fans and visiting Australians.

The Championship arrived in style yesterday in Taupō with the return of Track to Town, where the entire 24-car Supercars grid drove from Taupō International Motorsport Park into Taupō CBD.

Throngs of fans welcomed the field to town, where an all-driver signing session followed on the shores of Lake Taupō on a stunning afternoon.

Reigning Repco Supercars Champion Chaz Mostert was a popular figure as always, but heaped praise on rising star teammate Ryan Wood, the Wellington native drawing his own pack of supporters.

Mostert credits Wood’s rapid speed for boosting the Walkinshaw TWG Racing squad to championship contention in 2025, where 34-year old Mostert claimed the title on Grand Final day.

The duo have also debuted the Toyota GR Supra Supercar this year, with five Supras in total set to hit the track in their first-ever event in New Zealand this weekend.

The driver who scores the most points across the Taupō and Christchurch events will be awarded the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy, named for beloved Kiwi driver Jason Richards who succumbed to cancer in 2011.

Team 18’s Anton De Pasquale won the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy in 2024, and like Mostert was gracious for the welcome he and the 21 Australian drivers received.

De Pasquale is already a race winner in 2026, and brushed off thoughts of the team looking to silence critics as Team 18 takes up status as lead Chevrolet team following powerhouse Triple Eight’s defection to Ford this year.