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Truck racing is one of the loudest, heaviest and most spectacular things you can watch on a New Zealand race track: five-tonne prime movers, diesel stacks behind the cab, racing door to door through corners built for cars. The trucks are limited to 160 km/h, but at that weight the braking zones and battles for position are something else.
Testing usually runs on the Friday before each round, with qualifying and racing on Saturday and Sunday.
Each round has a 15-minute qualifying session and three races. Race 1 is six laps on a qualifying grid. Race 2 is eight laps from a reverse grid, so the fastest trucks have to carve through the field. Race 3 is an eight-lap handicap race, with the slowest trucks released first and the quickest chasing them down. Every race is a rolling start behind a safety truck. A separate Development Series runs its own sessions, so there is even more truck track time on the programme.
Expect Freightliner Century Class and Argosy, Kenworth T404 SAR and W924, Scania 142, Volvo NH, International, Mack Vision and even a 1975 KM Bedford on the grid, mostly running Caterpillar, Detroit and Cummins diesels. Teams quote outputs well above 1,000hp. The drivers to watch include five-time defending champion Alex Little, six-time champion Troy Wheeler, Brent "Bones" Collins, Shane Gray, Dave West and the Etting family.
Truck rounds usually share the bill with other categories such as the NZV8 Utes, so you get a full day of racing. Manfeild's recent meetings with the Super Trucks have been free entry, with non-perishable food donations welcomed for local charity, and other venues charge a gate fee. Check each event listing for current admission. Bring ear protection, as these are loud.
You won't find arrive-and-drive race trucks, but truck racing is unusually open to newcomers who want to get involved.
Truck racing is a family sport, and many crews are volunteer enthusiasts. Teams are always glad of help keeping a five-tonne race truck running across a weekend. Talking to teams in the paddock, or messaging them through the NZ Super Truck Racing Facebook page, is the way in.
From 2026-27 the championship includes a Development Series with its own dedicated sessions: a ten-minute qualifying session and two six-lap reverse-grid races at most rounds. It's designed for drivers who want extra track time or want to race without contesting the main championship, so it's the natural first step for a new truck racer.
Older, non-electronic trucks have their own Historic class with a lower minimum weight of 5,000 kg. It's a path for mechanical-diesel trucks, and the Historic class still races for the outright championship alongside the modern Supertrucks.
Every round is run by a MotorSport NZ member club: Manawatu Car Club, South Canterbury Car Club and Southland Sports Car Club. They need marshals and officials, and volunteering gets you trackside for free.
Super Truck racing is a MotorSport New Zealand national race championship, so the path follows the race licence system with a few truck-specific steps.
Drivers need a MotorSport NZ C1 Grade competition licence or higher. Join a MotorSport NZ affiliated car club, create a MotorSport Online profile, complete the medical declaration and sit the C Grade exam with a licence examiner. If someone other than the driver enters the truck, they also need an Entrant's licence.
All drivers and entrants must be financial members of the Truck Racing Association (NZ) Inc, the MotorSport NZ member club that runs the series. Australians racing on a Trans-Tasman Visa are exempt.
Trucks must meet MotorSport NZ Schedule TR, the Super Truck technical regulations, which are based on the FIA's international Group F rules for racing trucks. Every truck needs a MotorSport NZ logbook (or a Motorsport Australia logbook) and a homologated safety cage.
Register for the championship with the Championship Coordinator before your first round, choosing whether you score points in the Supertruck class, the Historic class or the Development Series. Then enter each round separately through the inviting club's supplementary regulations.
Trucks are GPS-monitored against the 160 km/h limit, carry forward and rear-facing judicial cameras, and must have a receive-only race radio. Excess smoke for more than three seconds gets reported, with warnings, time penalties and then exclusion for repeat offences.
Points are awarded for qualifying and every race (16 for a win, down to 1 point from 13th place), plus an attendance point each round. The overall champion receives the MotorSport New Zealand Super Truck Race Champion Cup, and there are class awards for Supertruck, Historic and the Development Series.
A super truck starts life as a road truck, and the rules keep it that way. Here's what MotorSport NZ Schedule TR requires.
Personal safety apparel (helmet, race suit, gloves and boots) follows MotorSport NZ Appendix Two, Schedule A for national race events. Check the current Schedule A with the MotorSport NZ Technical Department before buying.
Expect a serious investment. Building, preparing and transporting a race truck costs well beyond most circuit racing classes, and one driver reported spending around $30,000 to rebuild his truck after a fire. Talk to existing teams before you buy.
The club that runs the championship, with news, drivers and points.
Web: nzsupertrucks.co.nz
Email: supertruckracing@gmail.com
Facebook: NZ Super Truck Racing
YouTube: @NZSuperTruckRacing
Handles championship registration, entries and points.
Graham McClymont: 027 288 4086, grahammcc@hotmail.com
For technical questions, logbooks and truck compliance.
Barry Carrington: 027 441 8682, barry.carrington@lakeautos.nz
Licensing, the National Sporting Code and the Schedule TR technical regulations.
Web: motorsport.org.nz/championships/super-truck
Email: admin@motorsport.org.nz (technical: technical@motorsport.org.nz)
Phone: 04 815 8015
You can list it on NZShift for free.
Yes. The MotorSport New Zealand NZ Super Truck Championship runs every season. The 2026-27 championship has four rounds: Manfeild Circuit Chris Amon (24-25 October 2026), Levels Raceway, Timaru (30-31 January 2027), Teretonga Park, Invercargill (6-7 March 2027) and Manfeild again (3-4 April 2027).
Race trucks are limited to 160 km/h, checked with a GPS speed logger fitted to every truck. Minimum race weight is 5,300 kg for the Supertruck class and 5,000 kg for the Historic class, so they are among the heaviest racing vehicles in New Zealand.
Alex Little of Lower Hutt, in a Caterpillar-powered Freightliner Century, won five championships in a row from 2021-22 to 2025-26. Before him, Troy Wheeler won six straight titles from 2015-16 to 2020-21. The first title in 1989-90 was shared by Denny Hulme and Avon Hyde.
Drivers need a MotorSport NZ C1 Grade competition licence or higher and must be financial members of the Truck Racing Association (NZ) Inc. Australians with a Motorsport Australia National licence and a Trans-Tasman Visa can also enter. Each truck needs a MotorSport NZ logbook and a homologated safety cage.
Friday is optional testing. Each round then has a 15-minute qualifying session and three races: Race 1 (6 laps) gridded on qualifying, Race 2 (8 laps) as a reverse grid, and Race 3 (8 laps) as a handicap start with the slowest trucks released first. All starts are rolling, behind a safety truck or car.
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