Taupō played host to the 24 cars across the 11 teams that made the journey from Australia to New Zealand’s Taupō circuit in April for the return of the series to our shores, the first since the final race held at Pukekohe back in 2022.
The circuit is the third racetrack to host the championship in New Zealand, with both Pukekohe and Hamilton having the honours beforehand. With the departure of Shane van Gisbergen, who is now racing in Nascar in the US, all eyes were on the fast five Kiwis to win the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy on home soil in front of Kiwi fans. News had broken in the weeks before the event that last year’s championship winner, Brodie Kostecki, was making a return to the series after sitting on the sidelines for the first two rounds. Kostecki and his Erebus team had been in contract negotiations after allegations came to light surrounding the team dynamics pre season.
