Supercars Championship: 2026 Taupō Super 440 Race 9 Report
- Tayla Purves
- 23 minutes ago
- 7 min read
With one race and one qualifying under the field's belts, there was still excitement to be had for qualifying on a Saturday.
Ryan Wood took out the fastest time in Qualifying (Race 9) with a speedy 1:25.873 landing him on pole position with his No.2 Walkinshaw TWG Racing Toyota Supra; right beside him is Will Brown in the No.888 Ampol RedBull Racing Mustang.
Behind the front runners are Brown's teammate Broc Feeney in the No.88 Ampol RedBull Racing Mustang and Brodie Kostecki in the No.17 Shell V Power Racing Mustang.
Due to weather concerns in Taupō New Zealand this weekend, all Sunday racing action is cancelled due to the threatening arrival of Cyclone Vaianu.
As it happened
The pack had a very clean start into turn one, each driver showing regulated patience for the 60 laps ahead.
The calm before the storm remained for the two opening laps, with Wood charging ahead from the snake of cars behind - Matthew Payne in the No.19 Penrite Racing Mustang made up two spots, with Aaron Cameron in the No.3 Liqui Molly Blanchard Racing Mustang doing similar manoeuvres, and Cooper Murray in the No.99 Erebus Chevrolet Camaro making up four positions.
The field remained gentle and locked in, Cameron Waters, down in ninth position, in the No.6 Monster Energy Mustang taking a peak past Anton De Pasquale's No.18 Chevrolet Camaro, before deciding against a move.
Lap 3, Payne held the fastest lap time, the field now bringing their tyre temperature up slowly but surely as racing commenced and eagerly got a bit quicker and more aggressive.
Last years racing in Taupō had an average of eighteen to nineteen laps for a tyre stint, meaning tyre life was switched out every twenty or so laps, shifting the field successfully and making competition harder.
Lap 5, Andrew Edwards got on the radio to Brown, requesting he pulls his cool suit plug out and back in again to test if it adjusts; he did so on the back straight, amidst gear changes, earning himself respect of the commentators.
The Bull's have been notorious for cool suit failures this season, each round having a minor or very harsh error appear mid race. Brown was then asked to try and recycle the unit by using the touchpad in the car with minor concerns of heat in the cockpit.
Feeney was asked to push his cool suit fitting in further, shortly after the Brown cool suit debacle - both cars seemingly having the same system errors. With luck on their side, the weather doesn't seem to push drivers to be too dependant on a cool suit functioning with efficiency.
Macauley Jones had an awkward moment in the No. 99 Toyota Supra as he made slight contact with rookie, Jobe Stewart's, No.9 Erebus Chevrolet Camaro on Lap 6.
Lap 9, Payne pushed his way to fifth on the way into Turn 1, making his way past the inside of reigning champion, Chaz Mostert, no fighting between the two for the position.
Lap 11, Brown made his way to the rear of Wood's Toyota Supra, their split closing to +0.450 as the No.888 Mustang chased the New Zealander down for the lead.
Racing heated up after a slow and controlled start, lap 14 as Brown clipped the curb with hopes to push the door open, the fight well and truly alive for the lead of the race.
On lap 15, the first of the pit stops began with David Reynolds in the No.20 Chevrolet Camaro, the stop an agonisingly slow one at that, placing him at the back of the field.
Lap 16, Payne, the first of the leaders, headed into the pit lane, Jack Le Brocq and Cooper Murray following suit.
The next lot of stops was completed by Thomas Randle with a beautiful and quick stop, and De Pasquale with a held up stop, his rear left becoming a struggle.
Taupō is known for its abrasive track surface, heating tyres quickly and efficiently, creating some exciting highlight moments for Supercars history.
Lap 20, Wood is in the lead with some breathing room as Brown headed into the pit lane for a tyre change, receiving what looked to be a brand new set for the next tyre stint - having a clean 34.60 pit stop duration, setting the quickest stop of the race thus far.
All remained fairly the same across the paddock, with lap 26 seeing Mostert overtake De Pasquale, and Kostecki out in front with a +26.199 gap ahead of Wood, but seemingly going long for the first pit stop.
A FIREBALL Fire pass showed Feeney overtaking De Pasquale, a soft kiss to the rear of the Chevrolet Camaro before a quick overtake.
Kostecki made his way in the lane, receiving four used Dunlop Soft tyres with a small top up of fuel; he popped out in seventh position, with all first stops completed, with one compulsory stop left.
With thirtytwo laps remaining, a four-way battle erupted between Reynolds, Golding, Randle and Kai Allen - Golding made his way past Reynolds.
Mostert came onto the radio to suggest the only way to race his Toyta Supra was hard and fast - taking the purple box of a fastest lap time during the race. He finds himself in third, his charge very clear for the top step of the podium, only +3.954 behind.
Halfway through the race was marked by the top six slowly catching the backs of one another, but giving a clear shot at receiving the Jason Richards Trophy, points on their side for next weekend in Christchurch.
With just twenty six laps left of the race, two low scaled fights broke out between Rand;e and Reynolds - the No.55 Castrol Mustang giving a small love bump, getting a nice run ahead as Reynolds shoves back along the back straight with Randle getting the job done.
The second battle showed fierce between Kostecki and Payne, the Western Australian pushing his way forward, lunging from a fair way back; his frustrations of being behind a trail of cars clear.
With the back end of the race now approaching, patience is wearing off in the pack, more ballsy moves being utilised to get further up the field and closer to the leaders.
Lap 37, Reynolds found himself in yet another three-way battle, Cameron Hill ahead and André Heimgartner behind, Reynolds losing out to each of the Chevrolet Camaro's.
The first of the second compulsory stops was Cameron Hill in the No.14 Brad Jones Racing Toyota Supra, officially opening the expected pit stop window.
The safety car has not yet been needed across the duration of the race, however the left rear tyre errors have been common across the first half of the race, with De Pasquale having three brand new tyres, and one old due to a left rear nut refusing to cooperate.
Racing continued on with no big dramas, teams getting their second stops done with little to no errors.
Lap 44, Wood came out just behind his Walkinshaw TWG Racing teammate, the potential for the first Toyota podium in 2026 alive and well - with pressure from two up-to-date Ampol RedBull Mustang's behind.
On lap 46, Wood came onto the radio using foul language in regard to an alleged failed undercut strategy after coming out of the pit lane behind his teammate. His engineer, Richard Harris, doing his best to calm the fired up New Zealander.
As the race approaches the end, the weather turned with rain beginning to fall lightly across the circuit, bringing excitement to what could be called a calm and collected race.
Kostecki becomes the very last to take the second compulsory stop, the No.17 Mustang taking brand new slick tyres with just twelve laps to go - dropping from first to sixth.
After the grid shake up, the two Toyota Supra's lead the pack towards the finish line, rain threatening the pit priority between the two, as another pair of teammates remain rather close to one another - the two Bull's looking free to race as their battle heats.
Feeney, with a run at Turn 4 into Turn 5, attitude between the two teammates looking rather fierce as Brown goes wide, and Feeney goes past into third position.
Further down the grid, Kostecki and Golding have an awkward moment as their own battle heats up for sixth place, marbles on the exit of Turn 7 providing a nail biting slide for James Golding.
Kostecki, now clearing Golding's No.7 Mustang, charges toward Payne who's just +4.270 in front with eight and a half laps to go until the chequered flag is waved.
Wood goes past Mostert without a fight for the lead, the New Zealander bringing the pack home as reigning champion Mostert suggests over the radio that he will protect the win for his young gun teammate, Feeney closing in with the remaining six and a half laps.
Feeney looks to be the fastest on lap 55, only +1.844 behind Mostert's No.1 Walkinshaw TWG RacingToyota Supra, the rain looking to have remained fairly light over the track. With four laps to go, Mostert is finally in the sights of Feeney.
The No.88 Mustang found himself right on the rear, going down the inside, side-by-side with Mostert putting up a fight, but ultimately Feeney made his way into second position with only a few push and shoves utilised by each.
The last lap was taken on by Wood flying over the curbs, leading by +3.930, chasing the safety of the chequered flag, giving Toyota their first win in the Repco Supercars Championship, as fans cheered on their very own hometown hero as emotions ran high in the cockpit.
The series will head to the South Island in New Zealand next weekend in Christchurch for the first ever Supercars round in the region at Ruapuna Raceway. The opportunity for success for the entire paddock, and not just the experienced veterans of the sport, is bigger than ever.
Practice 1 kicks off at 1:55pm (NZST) local time, 11:55am AEST (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane), and 2:55am BST (London).
Full results
Ryan Wood 1:30:28.703
Broc Feeney +3.036
Chaz Mostert +5.512
Will Brown +7.005
Matt Payne +8.820
Brodie Kostecki +12.054
James Golding +16.776
Kai Allen +17.004
Cameron Waters +37.027
Anton De Pasquale +37.712
Jack Le Brocq + 38.306
André Heimgartner +48.033
Thomas Randle +51.532
Jayden Ojeda +52.033
Aaron Cameron +52.463
Cameron Hill +55.027
Zach Bates +57.893
Macauley Jones +59.577
David Reynolds +62.983
Cooper Murray +63.812
Rylan Gray +67.125
Jobe Stewart +88.180
Declan Fraser +1 Lap
Jackson Walls +1 Lap
