Supercars Championship: 2026 ITM Christchurch Super 440 Race 11 Report
- Tayla Purves
- Apr 18
- 5 min read
The grid was set for Race 11 earlier this morning, 10:05am local time, with Brodie Kostecki leading the pack with a 1:21.033. Shortly behind is Matthew Payne.
On the second row, it was tooth and nail for third, with Aaron Cameron taking the position and falling in behind him was Kai Allen.
With Ruapuna Raceway making it's debut this weekend, each driver has equal experience with the 3.33km track, meaning incredible racing lays ahead for Saturday and Sunday races.
As it happened
Kostecki makes the start beautifully, with Payne's start lacking strength, gaining wheel spin, while an incredible leap is made by his teammate Allen, pushing through to second, Ryan Wood following suit.
Payne lost three positions, tasked with the immediate job of catch up, chasing down Broc Feeney - although it was a relatively clean Lap 1.
Lap 2, all the way down to turn one, André Heimgartner and Thomas Randle battle it out widely across the track, Randle getting the job done.
The energy on track began with wildness, and continued with Jayden Ojeda and Heimgartner being the next battle, Heimgartner finding himself off the race track and skidding onto the grass.
On Lap 5, Heimgartner had issues even turning right - he made his way in the pits and the team at scrambled to work on the car.
Contact with Jobe Stewart on Cameron Hill saw alleged steering damage almost immediately; At this stage, it looks as if Cameron Hill and Heimgartner are each out of the race.
Hill went on to speak to pit lane reporter Riana Crehan, suggesting younger rookies didn't know how to overtake and that there was alleged contact from Rylan Gray and Zach Bates that began his incident - Hill certainly heated over the incident.
While the opening laps proved to be rather chaotic, the field came into their race pace nearing Lap 10.
David Reynolds was handed a 15-second driving infringement penalty that will later be served in a pitstop; a nightmare weekend for the Supercars veteran.
Payne Eventually recovered back into third, passing Wood with an easy move - a door left open by youngster Wood.
Up the front of the pack, Kostecki and Allen battled it out, with the dominate No.17 Mustang making a slight mistake at Turn 3, shortening the gap to just +0.379.
Turn 8 and Turn 9 had a few bits of debris on Lap 10, the leaders having to dodge and skilfully find a clean bit of track to avoid a puncture.
More drama unfolded for Team 18, having to patch up part of their pit box - the patch still wet mid race. Worries from the team include air-jacks going through the cement.
Anton De Pasquale came into pit lane early, on Lap 11, with the team successfully avoiding their awkward wet patch of concrete, and supplying four new tyres.
The next line of stoppers began, with Reynolds serving his time penalty on Lap 12 - getting it out of the way early on.
Lap 16, the fight for the lead continue, Kopstecki heading itno the lane with Allen hot on his tail. Shell V Power Racing failed to have tyres ready for the race leader - the battle for quickest pit stop more important than ever.
Kostecki was out before Allen - a nail biting push for track dominance. Just one point three seconds in differences for pit stops between the two.
Two laps later, Wood made his way out of pit lane not far off the leaders, putting him back into the fight of top three. Payne remained out of the lane, allowing a possible undercut for Wood.
Pit stop chatter remained for commentators and over the radios, but chaos started back up with James Golding facing sideways at pit entry after making contact with the tyres on the way in, with Macauley Jones narrowly missing the No.7 Mustang. Each made it out unscathed, their pit stops flawless.
Back to the front of the race, Allen almost gets the opportunity to jump at an overtake, however experience persevered for Kostecki, but it didn't end there on Lap 20, with each attempting to maintain track position.
Kostecki showcased his racing craft, adjusting the way he defends, dependant on Allen's racing style - each having a tough battle, Allen continuing to take peaks at each corner.
All while the chase for position continued, Payne still remains out in front with a +17.366 gap from Randle, the top two the only ones remaining without a pit stop taken; a strategic move for the end of the race.
Finally, Lap 26 Payne made his way into the pit lane, with just two soft tyres for the rear replaced. He popped out just beside his teammate, putting himself onto the podium - hwoever a critical stop may have lacked efficiency, a tyre not certainly attatched correctly.
Payne's right rear wheel spat out onto the grass, the No.19 Mustang fighting it's way to pit lane where the team replaced the tyre and sent him back out; now in twenty-second, putting Wood back into third.
Further down the grid with eight laps remaining, a recovery drive was on it's way for Golding, attempting to salvage as much as he can and grab a few positions on the way; at that time only in sixteenth and fighting Randle.
Throughout the pack, battles continued; Cam Waters and De Pasquale fought it out, the green eyed Monster Energy No.6 Mustang looking keen to get the move done. De Pasquale goes wide with five laps to go, giving Waters the perfect opportunity to shove his Mustang up there - but the Chevrolet Camaro kept track position.
Declan Fraser spun out on Lap 33, getting going again - Chaz Mostert caught up in drama on his inside, assisting No.777 around after an error on Declan's part; too eager to make a move.
A battle continued for the teammates at Red Bull Ampol Racing, each attempting to gain points and track position.
As the last lap commenced, Kostecki pushed to stay on track, attempting to open a gap on Allen on his tail, the gap sitting around +0.690.
Kostecki flew past the chequered flag , Allen coming in behind him, with Wood joining them on the podium.
The field go racing again this afternoon at 2:10pm AEST and 4:10pm local time (NZST) for another twenty-seven laps.
Wood remains the leader in contention for the Jason Richards Trophy, and Kostecki remains the championship leader - orange numbers proudly on his windscreen.
The full results
Brodie Kostecki 52:23.961
Kai Allen +0.598
Ryan Wood +8.611
Will Brown +9.002
Broc Feeney +10.159
Anton De Pasquale +18.721
Cam Waters +20.427
Jayden Ojeda +21.023
Aaron Cameron +22.178
Zach Bates +23.018
Rylan Gray +27.029
Jack Le Brocq +29.773
Chaz Mostert +37.164
Thomas Randle +37.967
James Golding +38.608
Cooper Murray +39.320
Jobe Stewart +43.902
Macauley Jones +44.578
Matthew Payne +45.143
Declan Fraser +48.476
David Reynolds +51.734
Jackson Walls +57.165
Andre Heimgartner +6 Laps
Cameron Hill +7 Laps
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