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The first Supercars round ever held in New Zealand's South Island. Kai Allen's maiden win in Race 1, then home driver Matt Payne swept the final two races of his own home weekend.
The 2026 ITM Christchurch Super 440 made history as the first Supercars Championship round ever held in New Zealand's South Island — and, paired with the previous week's Taupo round, the first Supercars double-header the country has hosted. Ruapuna's Euromarque Motorsport Park signed a three-year deal in 2025 to host the round annually from 2026, with circuit upgrades made ahead of the Championship's arrival.
24 cars were entered — 8 Chevrolet Camaros, 11 Ford Mustangs and 5 Toyota Supras — across a four-race weekend from 17-19 April. The Friday race carried over the 120km race cancelled the previous week in Taupo due to Cyclone Vaianu, ahead of a full Saturday and Sunday programme.
Kai Allen took his maiden Supercars race win in Race 1, edging Brodie Kostecki by 0.742 seconds. Kostecki turned the tables in Race 2, beating Allen by 0.598 seconds. From there it was home driver Matt Payne's weekend: he won Race 3 by 11.6 seconds from Broc Feeney, then backed it up in the 61-lap Race 4 finale, holding off a fast-closing Allen by 1.126 seconds at the flag — a home-race double to close out the round.
Broc Feeney claimed the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy, awarded to the driver with the best combined points across the two 2026 New Zealand rounds.
The weekend was the home race for three drivers: Matt Payne, Ryan Wood and Andre Heimgartner — and Payne made the most of it with two race wins on home tarmac. It also marked series veteran David Reynolds' 500th career race start — his Camaro carried the number 500 for the occasion. Several teams ran New Zealand-themed special livery for the round, including silver fern designs and a Team Kiwi Racing tribute in honour of the round's namesake, the late Jason Richards.
Full race-by-race results and standings are available on NZShift's results page for this event, and at supercars.com.
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The first Supercars round ever held in New Zealand's South Island. Kai Allen's maiden win in Race 1, then home driver Matt Payne swept the final two races of his own home weekend.
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