Sport

Cromwell revved up about Supercars race

06:25 am on 19 December 2024

New Zealand driver Andre Heimgartner won race one of the Australian Supercars championship round in Taupo. Photo: Photosport

New Zealand could have a second Australian Supercars race as soon as 2026.

The Central Otago District Council met on Wednesday to discuss the region hosting a Supercars event in 2026 at Highlands Motorsport Park in Cromwell.

After a year away in 2023, Supercars returned to New Zealand earlier this year with its inaugural event at Taupō International Motorsport Park.

Supercars is constantly pursuing and evaluating opportunities to expand the sport's reach, both in Australia and abroad, Supercars said in a statement.

New Zealand is home to an avid motorsport fan base, as evidenced by the sell-out success of the inaugural Taupō Super400 this past April, and no less than five Kiwi drivers on the current

Supercars grid.

There has been great interest among our stakeholders and supporters in a second Supercars event in the land of the long white cloud, which we will continue to explore alongside our ongoing efforts to sustain and grow the success of our event in Taupō.

The five New Zealand drivers on the Supercars grid are Jaxon Evans, Andre Heimgartner, Matt Payne, Richie Stanaway and Ryan Wood.

Heimgartner won the inaugural Taupō race.

The new Supercars championships starts in February with the Taupō race in April.

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