History for Heimgartner with first Taupō Supercars win

Brad Jones Racing driver Andre Heimgartner has created a slice of Supercars history, becoming the first winner of a championship race at Taupō International Motorsport Park.

On Saturday, Taupō International Motorsport Park became the 35th venue to hold a ATCC/Supercars Championship race.

Taupō also became the third New Zealand circuit, after Pukekohe Park Raceway and Hamilton Street Circuit, to hold a race.

Fittingly, the win went to local hero Heimgartner, who claimed his first Supercars victory since 2021, and BJR's first since 2020.

The 28-year-old is no stranger to Taupō, having won at the circuit in NZ V8s. The Auckland-born driver's second career win came with the #8, the same number the late Jason Richards used while racing for BJR.

"I've spent a lot of time in the area. So for me to get a win here is really awesome," said Heimgartner, who moved to 10th in the championship.

Heimgartner also became the fourth Kiwi to win the first race at a new circuit, following Jim Richards (Winton 1985), Greg Murphy (Canberra 2000, Pukekohe 2001, Gold Coast 2002), Scott McLaughlin (Newcastle 2017, Albert Park 2018) and Shane van Gisbergen (The Bend 2018).

Supercars will return to the track on Sunday with Boost Mobile Qualifying at 8:45am AEST/10:45am NZST, followed by the Top Ten Shootout at 10:25am AEST/12:25pm NZST.

The final race of the weekend, the 60-lap Race 8, will start at 1:05pm AEST/3:05pm NZST.

First winners at new ATCC/Supercars circuits