Ranked: The best Kiwi Supercars performances in New Zealand
The upcoming ITM Taupō Super 440 will be the 22nd time the Repco Supercars Championship will do battle for championship points in New Zealand.
Since debuting at Pukekohe Park Raceway in 2001, there have been some iconic moments that have occurred across the ditch at Pukekohe, the Hamilton Street Circuit, and Taupō International Motorsport Park.
New Zealand drivers have featured prominently at home since the 2001 debut, with four drivers claiming victories on home soil.
Supercars.com takes a look at 10 of the best performances by Kiwis at home in the Supercars Championship.
10) Stanaway's wet prowess shines in gloomy Taupō opener
12 months ago, Richie Stanaway proved his undoubted talents in the soaked 200km race that kicked off Supercars' new era in New Zealand at Taupō last year.
After qualifying a disappointing 23rd, the 2023 Bathurst winner soared through the field in the 60-lap affair, finishing in sixth position as one of four Kiwis inside the top 10.
9) Jason Richards splashes to Team Kiwi Racing's first top five
We never got to see that absolute best of Jason Richards in Supercars, however his remarkable performance in the first ever championship race held in New Zealand at Pukekohe was an initial glimpse at his talent.
In 2001, Richards dragged his outdated Perkins-built VT Commodore from 16th on the grid up to a remarkable fourth, aided by first lap carnage at the hairpin and a torrential downpour that saw the race cut short to 31 of a scheduled 36 laps.
The result was the best result by far for the fledgling Team Kiwi Racing operation in their first full-time season, with Richards finishing ahead of both of Perkins Engineering's newer VX Commodores.
8) McLaughlin becomes Supercars' youngest ever winner
After five years at the Hamilton Street Circuit, Supercars' return to Pukekohe in 2013 began with a fairytale breakthrough victory for the youngest driver in the field.
Rookie Scott McLaughlin qualified fourth in the Top Ten Shootout, and capitalised on punctures suffered by polesitter Jamie Whincup and front row starter Mark Winterbottom to claim a popular maiden Supercars win in just his ninth career start.
To this day, McLaughlin remains the youngest ever winner of an Australian Touring Car Championship/Supercars race at 19 years, 10 months, and three days old.
7) "The day the wild child arrived"
Just two years prior to McLaughlin's breakthrough, another driver who would go on to become one of New Zealand's greatest got his breakthrough win on home soil.
In 2010, Shane van Gisbergen had come close on several occasions to claiming his first career win, however it was on Sunday at Hamilton in 2011 that he would finally get the first victory.
Cheered on by a wild crowd, and with a nation still reeling from the Christchurch Earthquake behind him, van Gisbergen fended off Lee Holdsworth to greet the chequered flag first in his 111th start.
6) Heimgartner takes JR's #8 to first-ever Taupō win
Andre Heimgartner had starred at the final Pukekohe event in 2022 in his first season with Brad Jones Racing, scoring two podiums, and also impressed in the first season of Gen3 in 2023.
However, he had yet to record a win with BJR, and when the heavens opened on Taupō last year, the #8 Camaro suddenly emerged as a contender, qualifying third.
Heimgartner duly delivered, snapping a three-year winless drought to claim a home victory in the #8 BJR entry that the late Jason Richards had made his home in his final two years in Supercars.
5) van Gisbergen becomes first Kiwi to win JR Trophy
Five years after claiming his maiden race win on home soil, Shane van Gisbergen became the first New Zealander to claim the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy in 2016.
The penultimate round of that year's championship, van Gisbergen finished on the podium in all four races at Pukekohe, including a win in the second race of the weekend on Saturday.
He also survived an awkward collision triggered by teammate Jamie Whincup on Sunday, with his JR Trophy win setting up a clear path to his maiden championship victory a few weeks later at Homebush.
4) McLaughlin bests SVG in tense Pukekohe battle
It was an all-Kiwi title fight in 2018, with Scott McLaughlin and Shane van Gisbergen duking out for their respective homologation teams in DJR Team Penske and Triple Eight.
They were the two key protagonists at the penultimate round of the season at Pukekohe, with the Red Bull man beating the Shell V-Power driver on Saturday, and infamously parking in McLaughlin post-race.
However, it was McLaughlin who had the last laugh, bouncing back with a supreme victory on Sunday that put him on the pathway to championship glory, whilst also claiming the Jason Richards Trophy by virtue of his Sunday win.
3) Murphy claims second New Zealand sweep
Having claimed a further two Bathurst wins and become a championship threat at Kmart Racing, Murphy moved away from the TWR stable to join Paul Weel Racing in 2005.
Though he found himself in new surroundings, he was still at the pointy end of the field after qualifying, lining up fourth on the grid for the opening race.
Murphy would climb to victory in the first race, and wouldn't be toppled to claim his second Pukekohe sweep in five years, which fittingly remained his final round win in Supercars.
2) van Gisbergen claims emotional win in Pukekohe's swansong
With Pukekohe announcing they would ceasing all motorsport operations in 2023, the 2022 Auckland SuperSprint promised to be an emotional weekend for the New Zealand drivers in the field.
A runaway championship leader, Shane van Gisbergen finished a quiet fifth in the first race before winning the second, but lined up eighth on the grid for the final race.
A trademark SVG charge followed, culminating in a breathtaking battle with Cam Waters for the final Pukekohe victory, with the packed Pukekohe crowd whipped into a frenzy amid wild celebrations post-race.
1) Murphy in a league of his own in Supercars' maiden NZ round
Supercars' first points-paying visit to New Zealand in 2001 saw Greg Murphy's reign as the 'King of Pukekohe' begin with a vengeance.
At that stage a two-time Bathurst winner, Murphy was unstoppable on home turf, topping qualifying, the Top Ten Shootout, and winning all three races in a devastating performance.
In the first five championship events held at Pukekohe, Murphy would win nine of the 15 races held, and claimed round honours in 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2005, but it was the first-time sweep that remained his most dominant.
