From 'dream' to reality: How Christchurch arrived on the Supercars map
Christchurch to make Supercars debut on April 17-19
Ruapuna to round out inaugural ITM NZ Double Header
Taupō kicks off Double Header on April 10-17
The South Island of New Zealand will come to life with the roar of the Repco Supercars Championship, with the inaugural running of the ITM Christchurch Super 440.
Ruapuna Park, commercially known as Euromarque Motorsport Park, is set to become the 36th circuit to host a round of the Australian Touring Car/Supercars Championship, and the fourth in New Zealand after Pukekohe, Hamilton, and Taupō.
Just 15 kilometres west of the Christchurch CBD, the venue is operated by the local Canterbury Car Club, who count the likes of former Ferrari Academy driver and current IndyCar star Marcus Armstrong as members.
However, never has the venue hosted an event of the magnitude of a Supercars round before.
But, if they had it their own way, Supercars could well have already had a history in Christchurch, as CCC General Manager Mark Wederell told Supercars.com in a wide-reaching interview.
What could've been becomes what's coming up
Supercars' first venture to Christchurch has been an idea planted in the minds of the Canterbury Car Club well before the confirmation that they would host an event midway through last year.
Supercars arrived in championship form in 2001 at the fearsome Pukekohe Park near Auckland, with fans flocking to the venue in their droves to watch Kiwi hero Greg Murphy dominate on home turf.
However, with facilities lacking, moves were made to replace Pukekohe as the decade rolled on, and Ruapuna put their hand up to step up to the plate.
"It's actually really funny, now that we've got it coming here we uncovered some early letters in the archives, and back in the early 2000s we had a president who reached out to Supercars and suggested it would be a great venue," revealed Wederell.
"I've been GM now for 13 years, and probably when I started it was something we would talk about and dream about, but probably thought that would never happen."
An upgraded Pukekohe returned in 2013, however when it held an emotional farewell in 2022, Shane van Gisbergen reignited calls to get Supercars to the South Island.
"And then a couple of years ago Shane van Gisbergen really got some excitement going around on the radio and on social media, and that seemed to spark everyone's interest a bit more," Wederell continued.
"Our president, Lewis Low, he reached out to Supercars to see if there was any interest, and we had other contacts involved with Supercars trying to reach out and see if there was any interest, and it wasn't really getting anywhere.
"And then we got a call from ChristchurchNZ, who at that stage we were having some conversations with, so when we got called to that first meeting, we started to realise that maybe it had moved from being a dream, to other people were looking at the city as an option.
"The first time staff from Supercars came to Ruapuna to do a track inspection we were probably thinking they'll just walk around and look at things and say that this wouldn't work and that wouldn't work.
"It was actually the opposite, and we're going we can do this, look at doing this here. That's when we realised this could be real."
Supercars' successful debut in Taupō in 2024 opened the door for the potential of adding a second round across the Tasman, with drivers and team owners alike calling for the addition.
12 months ago the wheels were starting to turn, with the final announcement of what would become the ITM New Zealand Double Header falling mere weeks after the second running of Supercars' Taupō event.
"I remember I was at the MotorSport New Zealand AGM conference in Auckland, it was last May. I got the phone call say it was a goer," Wederell said.
"That was super cool. obviously being up at the AGM with all the other people involved in motorsport, and we got a round of applause for that so that was super cool.
"Once I got back to Christchurch the work really started."
A recovering city
The arrival of Supercars to Christchurch is a major milestone in the rebuild of the city following the devastating earthquakes of 2011 that inflicted widespread damage and killed 185 people, and injured thousands.
Whilst the track facilities didn't cop the brunt of the earthquake in the same way the centre of Christchurch did, the wider area was left to rebuild amid the destruction.
Whilst at times a slow process, Christchurch has emerged as a destination for big events in recent years, with big ticket international competitions such as SailGP adding to the ever-popular draw of the Canterbury Crusaders in Super Rugby.
"It's massive. We're 15 years on, but to rebuild things have been slow, and living here you just don't think anything's happening," said Wederell.
"And then you sort of head back into town there, and the Convention Centre is great, there's great sporting grounds, and there's a new stadium opening up.
"Ruapuna itself wasn't affected much by the earthquakes, but a lot of infrastructure in town was.
"Now with all these other other things in town like the Convention Centre and the stadium, the city is definitely focused on events, and for us is it's perfect.
"That's so cool now that we can be part of that as well, I would've thought this was one of the biggest events the city has hosted. It's just so good for local accommodation; motels, hotels, restaurants, and all of that. The city has just got a great buzz."
That anticipation has only been growing ahead of the inaugural ITM Christchurch Super 440, with drivers flying in and out of Christchurch to get their first glimpse of the circuit in a variety of machinery.
"I think that's what's different is that we've held racing events here for years, and we've got a little community of people who come out and watch," Wederell said.
"But now we've got a whole city behind us, and you're going into town and you see billboards, and you hear it on the radio and on the TV. You're talking to people at a fish and chip shop that they work at if you've got your work shirt on.
"There are so many people who know about it, it's just next level. It's not one of these little events that we've run, it's a citywide thing, a New Zealand event.
"There's so many more people are excited by it, and it's cool because it's not not even just motorsport fans, it's just people that understand it's a great event and they just wanna be here and come see it."
"We want them to be here not just for three years..."
The addition of Ruapuna won widespread praise from the New Zealand motorsport community, with three-time champion and Bathurst winner van Gisbergen a long-time supporter of holding a Supercars round in Christchurch following Pukekohe's closure final round in 2022.
However, with an 11-month lead-up from the time of announcement, there was still plenty of work to be done to the facilities on the South Island venue.
A 10-year plan was released last year, with an ultimate goal of completely revamping pit and paddock facilities, however for the time being upgrades have mostly centred around track safety.
"A lot of the work we've done is installing some new gravel traps, expanding some seal on a couple of corners where if you cook it you can still get around the corner," Wederell said.
"I'm almost sick of talking about tyre bundles, we've had to prepare so many tyre bundles. We've had two people on it full-time, and we'll probably keep building them for another year after this.
"Because it's an older circuit, we have a lot of earth-filled tyre banks, so we need to put layers of cushioning in front of that. That's been a big part of what we've been doing.
"A lot of it is just generally making the track safer, which is good not just for Supercars but for all of our members and everyone who comes to the track, who are going to benefit over the next couple of years.
"Now we're just down to little things like mowing lawns, painting lines, and painting kerbs. The contractors are on-site building grandstands and hospitality suites.
"And then we'll move on to looking into the future. The garages we have now are carports, which are not good long-term for this size of event.
"We're in the process at moment, just getting consent and planning to be able to move them elsewhere in the pits to the back, which would make way for a concrete slab to go down pit lane, and concrete garages.
"We want them to be here for not just three years but five years, 10 years and beyond."
What can we expect?
It's the million-dollar question that arises with any new circuit on the Supercars calendar, but especially an overseas venue where a large majority of the field have never raced before.
Just what will the racing product look like in Christchurch?
Initial feedback from the drivers indicates that there will be plenty of elbows-out racing, potentially similar to what has been at Taupō over the last two years.
Another tight and technical circuit with some faster sections, notably a high-speed run into the first corner, the circuit has also drawn comparisons to old-school circuits such as Oran Park.
"It's been really cool having them here. I've tried to give them a little bit of room and not smother them too much and get on with what they here for, but the ones that we've spoken to have been very enthusiastic about it," Wederell said.
"They said it's quite technical, it will be hard to pass, and they believe the layout of the track won't degrade the tyre too much.
"I reckon there will be plenty of good racing and probably one of the key things which is not from them, but you can see the whole track from just about anywhere. It'll make life exciting for the fan."
A dream more than two decades in the making is now on the verge of becoming a reality, with the South Island getting its first ever taste of the Repco Supercars Championship.
For Wederell, a long-serving member of the Canterbury Car Club, and one of only a handful of paid employees, emotions will be running high when cars grid up for the first-ever race at Ruapuna.
"I'll try hard not to have a tear my eye. It's always been my favourite having V8s rumbling down the front straight, there'll be a lot of pride," Wederell said.
"I'm super proud of my team, we work really hard and I think you're the emotion will probably be a little bit of a release, but pride will be the biggest thing. To see them on the track, I'll think, 'now it's real.'"
Tickets for the ITM Christchurch Super 440, to be held April 17-19, are on sale now.
