2026 Christchurch Super 440
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| Round 4 of 14 in the 2026 Supercars Championship | ||||||||||||||
Layout of the Euromarque Motorsport Park | ||||||||||||||
| Date | 17–19 April 2026 | |||||||||||||
| Location | Christchurch, New Zealand | |||||||||||||
| Venue | Euromarque Motorsport Park | |||||||||||||
| Results | ||||||||||||||
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The 2026 Christchurch Super 440 (known for commercial reasons as the 2026 ITM Christchurch Super 440) was a motor racing event for Supercars that was held between 17 and 19 April 2026 at the Euromarque Motorsport Park in the Christchurch, New Zealand. The round consisted of three 120 km races as well as a 200 km feature, and will be the fourth round of the 2026 Supercars Championship. This event marked the first time the Supercars Championship had hosted a round in the South Island of New Zealand and the first double-header to be held in the country.
Kai Allen would capture his first Supercars victory in the opening race of the weekend. Brodie Kostecki would win the second race while Matt Payne secured victory in the third and final races. Broc Feeney would secure the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy by virtue of accumulating the most points over the two New Zealand rounds.
After the previous round in Taupō was disrupted by Cyclone Vaianu, the cancelled 120 km race from that weekend would be transferred to the Friday of Christchurch's racing programme.[1]
Entry list
The event was held on the weekend of 17–19 April 2026. It was the fourth Supercars event to be held at the Euromarque Motorsport Park, and the second international event of the season, with the other being the Taupō Super 440 being held one week later.
Since 2001, the Australian-based Supercars Championship has held rounds in New Zealand. Until 2026 however, no round had ever taken place outside of the North Island. Beginning 2025, rumours abound of a second round to be held in the South Island as part of a championship double-header. The two heavily favoured candidates for the round were Euromarque Motorsport Park (also known as Ruapuna) in Christchurch and Highlands Motorsport Park in Cromwell. In May 2025, a three-year deal was confirmed for Ruapuna to host a second annual New Zealand event starting from the 2026 season, and to be run on the weekend after the Taupō event.[2][3] In anticipation of this event, various key upgrades will be made to the circuit over the first couple of years.[4]
Drivers would also compete for the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy; an accolade awarded to the driver who accumulates the highest total points tally over the course of the two New Zealand rounds.[5] Heading into the weekend, Ryan Wood led the points tally by virtue of his strong showing in Taupō.[6]
Twenty four cars were entered into the event — 8 sixth-generation Chevrolet Camaros, 11 seventh-generation Ford Mustangs and 5 Toyota Supras. This event served as the home race for three drivers - Matt Payne, Ryan Wood and Andre Heimgartner.
Multiple teams and drivers sported special liveries unique to the New Zealand rounds. This included Thomas Randle at Tickford Racing who sported a predominantly silver and black livery with silver fern iconography,[7] and Cameron Hill would sport a Team Kiwi Racing-inspired livery on his Brad Jones Racing Supra in commemoration of the teams legacy driver and round trophy namesake, Jason Richards.[8]
This round marked the 500th race start for series veteran, David Reynolds. To commemorate this feat, his Camaro would be entered under the number 500 for the first race of the weekend.[9]
Results
Race 1
Race 2
Notes
- ^1 – Zach Bates crossed the finishing line in tenth before being given a 15-second penalty for a driving infringement, dropping him to fourteenth.
- ^2 - Grove Racing were penalised 30 Teams Championship points for a pit stop infringement resulting in Matt Payne losing a wheel during the race.
Race 3
Notes
- ^1 – Declan Fraser was given a 5-second penalty. His finishing position was unaffected by this.
Race 4
Notes
- ^1 – Chaz Mostert crossed the finishing line in fourth before being given a 30-second penalty for a driving infringement involving Brodie Kostecki, dropping him to seventeenth.