Team Kiwi owner opens up on return, Supercars future

Team Kiwi Racing owner David John has affirmed that the famous all-New Zealand outfit's return to Supercars competition in the DUNLOP Super2 Series could well turn into something more than a one-off.

Having last competed in Supercars in 2009, and Super2 in 2010, the team announced a surprise return to the Supercars scene in August, targeting the Bathurst Super2 round with an ex-Erebus Commodore.

Three New Zealand drivers were tested at Winton, with GT ace Brendon Leitch given the nod to drive the all-black #021 Commodore on the Mountain.

John declared a desire to run main game Supercars wildcards next year after the Winton test, and now the TKR founder has also suggested the team could return to the Super2 grid before the year is out.

"We have briefly talked about what happens after Bathurst," John told Supercars.com.

"Obviously Brendon has already committed to his GT program for Adelaide, and he's established himself as a genuine frontrunner in that championship as well.

"So we'll see how this weekend goes and then we'll start having a proper conversation over whether or not running two championships is the right thing for Brendon in Adelaide. We won't make the final decision until after Bathurst.

"Obviously Brendon is incredibly talented, but that's not to say that there aren't other young, talented Kiwis that we're keeping an eye on.

"Are they ready to jump into a Supercar yet? No, they're not ready yet, but we're always ready to give young talent a chance when they're ready to make the step.

"There's a renewed enthusiasm from the newer guys we've got onboard, we've got a great group of sponsors, and we've got 150 guests coming on the official Team Kiwi Racing tour."

Being a New Zealand-based team brings about several unique challenges for TKR, especially for travel logistics.

TKR has teamed up with Super2 stalwarts Image Racing, which stepped back from full-time competition, with Image Racing owner Terry Wyhoon offering engineering support for the entry.

That will be one of a number of considerations in what comes next for TKR, with John flying over a crew of mechanics and behind the scenes staff for Bathurst.

"We're always looking forward to what may come next, so we're definitely having a think about 2027," added John.

"For us, it's a lot of time and effort that goes into making this a reality. We do it different, we give drivers a chance without the need for bringing a budget, we select them purely on talent, and always have.

"It's not only drivers that we get from New Zealand, but it's also crew, mechanics, we even have a videographer coming over who's just a school kid from Wellington. We've funded him to make the trip over.

"There's a lot of things that have to happen though, and first and foremost is making sure that our sponsors are happy, so we need to make sure we go out and perform well at Bathurst.

"Brendon knows the track, and we believe he can do a really good job even if it's only his first Supercars event. We've been doing this long enough to know that it all needs to come together on the day."

Leitch becomes the latest in a long line of Kiwi talent to be handed a Supercars shot by TKR, a list that includes the likes of Shane van Gisbergen and the late Jason Richards.

The Kiwi turned laps in a Matt Stone Racing Gen3 Camaro at the 2025 pre-season Supercars test day in Sydney, however his Super2 chance represents his first competitive Supercars step.

"Brendon suited our founding principles down to a tee. He's been around the Australian scene for a few years now, and he's been on the international scene for longer than that, and done a very good job," said John.

"We thought we could be the place to kickstart his Supercars journey, and when we tested him with Chris [Pither] and Brent [Collins] at Winton we thought with a bit more time he would come along.

"His style really suits Bathurst, so we're all really looking forward to seeing what he can do around there."

Round 4 of the 2026 DUNLOP Super2 Series will commence on Thursday October 8 at Bathurst.