'Full on' Ruapuna like 'driving a semi-trailer around a car park'

With 45 minutes of running under their belts in Christchurch, drivers up and down the pit lane have offered their initial thoughts on the wild 3.3km Ruapuna circuit.

Kiwi Matt Payne led the way in a 1-2 sweep for Penrite Racing, however the limits were being pushed by all 24 drivers throughout, with countless off-track excursions.

The biggest moment came for Ryan Wood, who looped his Mobil 1 Truck Assist Toyota at the exit of Turn 2, however the only red flag was for Cameron Hill's Toyota, which ground to a halt early with suspected electrical dramas.

Leading the plaudits for the new Supercars venue was the pacesetter, who had never raced at Ruapuna before this weekend despite his New Zealand roots, and struggled to hide his enjoyment.

"Oh man, it's been a long time since I've had that much fun going out there and just ripping a new track," said Payne post-session.

"Man, it's so cool to drive, it's so busy. I was just having a ball out there, the car is ripper fast, so just a big thanks to the guys and girls at Penrite Racing, they did a mega job.

"It's a great way to start the weekend, and just really, really, really cool."

Despite his hairy session, which also included a bizarre moment on the pit straight where he ran two wheels through the grass, Wood was also beaming, having finished third for the session, 0.2414s behind Payne.

"Yeah it was full-on. I forgot how cool Ruapuna is, so it was a lot of fun," said the current Jason Richards Memorial Trophy leader.

"I made a few mistakes, and had a few spins, so it was action packed for me.

"Happy with where we ended, we have a bit of work to do, but the Grove cars seem like they're fast."

Leading the Chevrolet brigade was PremiAir Racing rookie Jayden Ojeda, who finished the session sixth, just over half a second off the pace of Payne.

The Sydneysider offered a cheeky quip on the tight nature of the Christchurch venue, and is also looking forward to experiencing the circuit in race conditions for the first time later this afternoon.

"The circuit's pretty interesting, it feels like you're trying to drive a semi-trailer around a car park," Ojeda said.

"It's pretty busy through the infield, so it's been a fun circuit to learn. There's a lot of dirt, we're making a mess of the joint, to be honest.

"It'll be cool to see how the cars race around here."

Supercars return to the track for Boost Mobile Qualifying at 2:15pm NZST/12:15pm AEST, before Race 10 of the 2026 Repco Supercars Championship at 4:35pm NZST/2:35pm AEST.