The Supercars Championship’s first race at Ruapuna Motorsport Park delivered plenty of drama, with Kai Allen taking a breakthrough victory in Race 10 of the ITM Christchurch Super440.
Following the weather disruption at Taupō, where Cyclone Vaianu forced the cancellation of a race, the schedule was revised to include the extra race on Friday at Ruapuna.
Matt Payne led the Kiwi charge in qualifying, securing pole position on debut at the circuit for Grove Racing. He narrowly edged championship leader Brodie Kostecki, while Ryan Wood continued his strong form with third.
Andre Heimgartner showed early speed but ultimately missed out in qualifying and started from 13th.
Kostecki made a strong start to the race, passing Payne into Turn 1 to take the lead. Behind them, an incident involving Cameron Hill, David Reynolds and Macauley Jones created confusion, with uncertainty over yellow-flag conditions affecting the field.
Wood took advantage to move into second, while Allen also got past Payne, dropping the pole-sitter back to fourth. Anton De Pasquale slotted into fifth.
Heimgartner lost ground in the opening lap, slipping from 13th to 16th, while Broc Feeney also dropped positions in the early stages.
By Lap 10, Kostecki had built a lead of around two seconds over Wood, with Allen close behind in third. Payne and De Pasquale remained in the top five, while the rest of the field began to settle after the hectic opening.
The first round of pit stops began on Lap 17, with Allen making an early move and taking just two rear tyres in an attempt to gain track position. Wood and Payne responded on Lap 20, rejoining behind Allen but with slightly fresher tyres.
Kostecki pitted on Lap 22 and came out behind Allen, who inherited the lead. Despite older tyres, Allen maintained track position, while Kostecki and Wood remained close behind.
Heimgartner stopped later than most on Lap 24 and rejoined in 15th.
In the closing stages, Kostecki reduced the gap to Allen to under a second, applying pressure over the final laps. Wood stayed within range in third, while Payne remained fourth.
Allen held on under pressure to take his first Supercars win, also marking Grove Racing’s first victory of the 2026 season and the first championship race win at Ruapuna.
Kostecki finished second, with Wood completing the podium in third. Payne came home fourth, followed by De Pasquale, James Golding, Cameron Waters, Chaz Mostert, James Courtney and Broc Feeney in the top ten.
Heimgartner recovered to finish 13th after his difficult start. Reynolds’ 500th race ended early following the opening-lap incident.
Qualifying for Races 11 and 12 begins Saturday at 10:05am NZST, with Race 11 scheduled for 12:45pm and Race 12 at 4:10pm.
Red Bull Ampol Racing continues to lead the Teams’ Championship on 1125 points, but the gap has closed significantly. Grove Racing now moves into second place, just 48 points behind, while Walkinshaw Andretti United sits third, only 65 points adrift of the championship lead.
In the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy standings, Ryan Wood leads the way on 286 round points. Brodie Kostecki sits second, 40 points behind, with Broc Feeney third, 52 points adrift. Matt Payne is fourth, 67 points behind the leader, while Chaz Mostert rounds out the top five, 74 points off the lead.
Header Image: Grove Racing
