Ruapuna ‘up to speed’ ahead of Supercars announcement
Monday, 7 April 2025
Christchurch could be on track to host the first Supercars event in the South Island.
The Press understands an announcement may be made by the end of April, with all eyes on the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment as officials consider a bid for major event funding.
Although no organisation involved would comment on their chances, Canterbury Car Club president Lewis Low said his team had been diligently raising funds for upgrades at Ruapuna Motorsport Park, just in case.
“As a club, we’re right up to speed … we’re fully in place with preparing for a potential international event,” he said.
South Islanders were first teased with the idea of a Supercars event shortly before Christmas, after the Central Otago District Council met to discuss hosting an event in 2026 at Cromwell’s Highlands Motorsport Park. A Supercars spokesperson confirmed they were considering a second event.
The owner of Highlands Park ‒ motorsport magnate Tony Quinn ‒ also owns the Taupō International Motorsport Park, where New Zealand’s leg of the motorsport series moved to in 2024. The inaugural ITM Taupō Super400 had a sell-out crowd of more than 67,000 and Supercars was contracted to return there in 2026.
However, Quinn told Australian-based motorsport outlet speedcafe.com on Thursday he thought Ruapuna had a good shot and he would be happy with that outcome.
He said Central Otago already had a strong tourism following, while Christchurch might have more money available after losing SailGP.
“I have said consistently that just coming to Highlands just to do another sprint round is probably not quite right. I think it needs to be a wee bit more special than that, a boutique round or something,” Quinn told speedcafe.com.
Ruapuna is one of the few remaining club-owned and non-commercial tracks in Aotearoa. The Canterbury Car Club, supported by over 850 members, launched a 10-year strategy at the beginning of 2025 with a vision to upgrade facilities, become more sustainable and improve accessibility.
The first stage of upgrades would cost an estimated $4 million and include resealing the track, improving drainage systems and kerbs and rebuilding the supporters’ lounge.
Low said they had raised almost $1m so far and welcomed all donations through the Canterbury Car Club website. They were also open to sponsorship inquiries.
Kylie Hawker Green, MBIE’s major event manager, said the Taupō event had been “an incredible success” which the Government was pleased to support, but could not say when a decision would be made about a second event.
The Taupō event received $2m from the major events fund for the 2024 event, part of a $5m package over three years. The event attracted 3000 international visitors, who collectively stayed 22,000 nights in New Zealand and spent $5.8m, Hawker Green has previously said.
Christchurch’s self-described “petrol head” mayor Phil Mauger said he preferred not to comment while the bid was under consideration.
Mauger has long hoped to bring Supercars to Christchurch. In 2019 he commissioned a concept design as part of a pitch to upgrade Ruapuna to international standards. He applied for a mining permit over the land on behalf of Maugers Mining in 2021 while he was a city councillor, a few months before he announced his mayoral campaign.
He stepped down as director of Maugers Mining later that year, but after being granted the permit in 2023 he approached the Canterbury Car Club in a personal capacity.
His idea was to extract gravel from Ruapuna land and use the resources to rebuild it, but the club did not take him up on it.
Supercars was approached for comment.