Kiwi Supercars fans, your second Christmas is upon us! Supercars action returns to New Zealand for Round 3 of the Supercars Championship and boy, are we excited to be heading back to Taupo!
It doesn’t exactly feel like that long ago we arrived to the sheer sea of people at the Track to Town event on Thursday, the bitter, bitter cold on Saturday (trust us Aussies to struggle!) and well, none of us will be forgetting the Sunday afternoon tussle between the Bulls.
While it certainly isn’t an Albert Park replica, Taupō Motorsport Park has proved to be an extremely racy one. With varied surface types, tyre degradation, a new weekend format with 2x 120km sprint races on Saturday, and a 200km refueling race on Sunday, Taupō requires some serious thought.
We go to a new qualifying format, two different tyre compounds for the sprint races, and no minimum fuel drop for Sunday’s race – better hope Andrew and Marty’s notebooks fit in their suitcases on the way over! While the strategy and teamwork are critical, and while also we love some competition, a slightly less hair-raising repeat of Sunday’s race from 2024 would be just what the doctor ordered, even if we do say so ourselves.
But why take it from us, head below to hear from both Will and Broc as they board the big bird to have a look as this long white cloud and get racing underway over the Tasman! 
Will Brown
Driver #1 Chevrolet Camaro
Red Bull Ampol Racing
“I can’t wait to get back to New Zealand. The fans over there are amazing and I had a great race there last year for the first ever Taupō round, so looking forward to getting back there, trying to replicate what we had there last year.”
“I think the smaller track will mean more argy-bargy style racing. There’s less road to put your car on and make moves, which makes for tough racing regardless. I’m looking forward to that again, but we don’t really know until we get there. It’s a slower track so I think everyone will get their shoulders out to try and get past.”
“I’m always aiming for race wins. At the end of the day, everyone that goes out there wants to win a race, and although I’m very consistent at getting podiums, I want to win more races. But it’s hard to always put your finger on what you have to do to do that, ever since I jumped in a car. It’s just trying to find little bits and pieces and the one percenter’s to help us win.”
Broc Feeney
Driver #88 Chevrolet Camaro
Red Bull Ampol Racing
“I am looking forward to going back to New Zealand. We always talk about it, but the fans in New Zealand are unreal. We really enjoy going there, especially as drivers. You get so much love. It’s an awesome week. The track to town to start the week is fantastic. And then being in front of a sold-out crowd last year was something very special, so it was obviously great to get a one-two finish on the Sunday there, especially for Tony (Quinn) being a part of the team.”
“It’s a very hectic and a full-on track, driving one lap around there is very high intensity. It’s an exciting race because of that. It’s probably our highest level of degradation for tyres throughout the full season and throws a lot of challenges at you.”
“I think the racing is generated a lot by the tyre degradation in Taupō and I think we’ll see that once again this year. Looking at the track, you’d think it’s nearly impossible to pass, but the tyre degradation is so huge there that it just makes so many opportunities. So, I think everyone’s going to be driving at a lesser intensity than they were in Melbourne, but there’s still going to be some great racing. To be honest, I hope we get a wet race as well, like we did last year. It’s always exciting. New Zealand’s always pretty up and down in the weather, so we’ll see what we get. I’m looking forward to getting back over there and just enjoying the weekend.”
Taupō Supercars action begins 11:45AM NZT (9:45AM AEST) with the first of two 30-min practice sessions on Friday. There are plenty of new and classic support categories on show over the ditch, only adding to what will be a massive spectacle this weekend.
If you are in Taupō for the weekend, stop by, say hi, get something signed and cheer on our Bulls. Chur, see you soon!
