Aggressive Supercars racing expected at 'old school' Ruapuna

Old school. Lots of commitment. Dive bombs.

If drivers' initial reactions to Ruapuna are anything to go by, the Christchurch circuit could quickly become a fan favourite after this weekend's inaugural ITM Christchurch Super 440.

Ruapuna is set to become the 36th circuit to host a round of the Australian Touring Car/Supercars Championship, and just the fourth New Zealand venue to do so.

In the weeks following the Melbourne SuperSprint, several drivers crossed the Tasman to get an early gauge for the circuit, whilst simulator preparations will be the only Supercars running before the event, even if virtual.

Now, all eyes are on the South Island as the Supercars circus arrives in town for a bumper four-race weekend, following the cancellation of Sunday action in Taupō.

On Wednesday, drivers will complete their customary track walk of a circuit that has undergone safety upgrades in the build up to the event, before a single 45-minute practice session leads into Boost Mobile Qualifying and the 120km Race 10 on Friday.

Second year Erebus driver Cooper Murray, who regularly uses simulators as part of his pre-event preparations, is excited by the new addition.

"I think it's going to be exciting, the track looks really fun to drive," Murray told Supercars.com in the lead up to the ITM New Zealand Double Header.

"We'll have to wait and see what the tyre deg is like and all of those unknown factors, but from a driving perspective on the sim it's a really fun track in a Supercars, an old school track.

"Fast corners, requires a lot of commitment, so from the drivers' point of view it's going to be really exciting. Hopefully from the fans' point of view it's going to be as exciting as it will be for us."

The circuit has undergone minor alterations in the lead up to the event, with several safety modifications including the addition of both gravel traps and tarmac runoff and tyre barrier upgrades.

One of the standout drivers of the early stages of the season, James Golding is also looking forward to the robust racing Ruapuna looks set to offer.

The Blanchard Racing Team driver, who has recorded six top 10 finishes across the last seven races in New Zealand, believes that the tight and twisty of the circuit could lead itself to chaos as drivers attempt to make their moves stick.

“I love it. It’s a really, really fun track, an old school track,” Golding told Supercars.com.

"I think it's going to be good. It'll be interesting to see how the racing goes in terms of passing, it's pretty tight.

“There are passing opportunities, but there'll be a few dive bombs getting pulled. So I think there'll be a bit of carnage at some point. Hopefully we’re clear of that.”

Despite the technical nature of the layout, Golding also feels as though there are more flowing sections to the circuit, despite the stop-start nature of the hairpins.

“There's definitely some open corners. It was pretty flowing, I thought,” Golding said.

“Some of the corners have hairpins in the middle — it's going to be interesting when everyone blazes down there on lap 1. But the actual flow of the rest of the track, I reckon is pretty good.

“The difference in cars handling wise will be enough to promote plenty of passing."

One driver who has perhaps turned more laps than anyone at Ruapuna is Walkinshaw TWG Racing young gun Ryan Wood, who drove for a Christchurch-based team in his junior racing career in New Zealand.

The Kiwi also made a quick diversion during his summer swing in the Formula Regional Oceania Trophy, getting some extra mileage at Ruapuna alongside engineer Richard Harris amidst a busy summer schedule.

He also enters Christchurch as the leader in the race for the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy, having claimed an emotional Race 9 win in Taupō.

“I’m really looking forward to racing this weekend, I did some racing over the summer break at Ruapuna with my engineer Richard, so I’m excited to head back there," said Wood.

“I’ve had the ‘rookie’ badge on me for the last few years but this weekend I get to hand it over to my mate Mozzie who has never raced at Ruapuna before, it’ll be a nice change, hopefully that means he gets to make me the coffees now. “We came into Taupō with a really strong package, we want to continue building that momentum going into Christchurch. Winning on home soil is something I will never forget, I want to keep doing it.”

For all of his 391 career starts, Wood's teammate Chaz Mostert admits that he feels like he's all the way back at his first career start this weekend, having never raced at Ruapuna before.

Whilst the same can be said for the large majority of the field, the two-time Bathurst winner says that he will be leaning on any piece of advice his young teammate can provide.

“I feel like a rookie this weekend, which is quite nice, it makes me feel young again," said the reigning champion. “Woody has been a great tour guide over the last week and he’s going to have to continue that again this weekend but around the track this time. “This double header in New Zealand has been so much fun, the cars have been fast and the fans are so passionate and I can’t wait to put on a show this weekend for them.”

The inaugural ITM Christchurch Super 440 begins on Friday.