The first-ever Supercars event at Taupo International Motorsport Park is being deemed a success after drawing 67,411 spectators over three days as the series made a long-awaited return to New Zealand.
The venue became the 35th to host a Supercars Championship event and the country’s third, behind Pukekohe and the Hamilton Street Race.
“This has been an incredible weekend for Supercars,” said Supercars CEO Shane Howard. “The overwhelming response to the event and the warm reception from the Taupo community, that began with thousands of fans lining the streets to welcome all 24 Supercars to Taupō with the first ever full field Track to Town will be etched into Supercars history.
“The whole event has been a success because of the incredible support of our fans here in New Zealand and those who made the journey to Taupō for this weekend’s momentous event.
“We are immensely grateful to the Taupō community, Taupō Council, the New Zealand Government, our fans, volunteers, sponsors and broadcasters for their incredible welcome and support.”
“Supercars extends its heartfelt gratitude to the fans, partners, teams, drivers, and everyone involved in making the ITM Taupo Super400 an unforgettable success.”
Saturday’s wet weather failed to dampen the spirits of those who stuck it out. Andre Heimgartner became just the fourth driver in the 2024 championship field to win a race on New Zealand soil, behind Mark Winterbottom, David Reynolds and Will Davison.
Four Kiwis finished in the top ten on Saturday, while Matt Payne made a recovering drive from a Turn 1 spin to finish 13th.
National titles were also decided in the NZ Formula Ford and Toyota 86 Championships, which both went down to last-race deciders on Sunday.
The Porsche Carrera Cup Australia also raced overseas for just the second time in the series history, with Marco Giltrap, Fabian Coulthard, Sam Fillmore, and Rick Armstrong joining a strong field of 17 Australians who made the trip.
The NAPA Central Muscle Cars featured a large grid of spectacular machinery for four thrilling races to complete a blockbuster schedule of action.
New Zealand’s Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee announced the official crowd figure ahead of the final race and said, “It is buzzing here. It is an absolute pleasure to host you, and all of the drivers and all of the supporters. I can’t believe so many people have travelled to Taupō to be here.
“As a government, it is absolutely fantastic to bring the Repco Supercars Championship to Taupō, which is an amazing place.
“I think the whole town, the whole city, has just gone live here. When the 24 cars actually rolled into town, I think everyone just went absolutely berserk, and they thought they owned it.
“I think it’s really cool that we are able to bring it to not only big cities but a smaller city like Taupō .
“Enjoy it. Come back again. We support it. And good luck to the Kiwi drivers.”
The ITM Taupo Super400 was the first instalment of a three-year deal to have Supercars competing at Taupo International Motorsport Park.
Header Image: Neville Bailey
Only downfall was the grandstand, the seats weren’t raised enough, so you couldn’t get a full view of you had 6ft guys in front of you and the kids couldn’t see.
Not enough grandstand seating.