2026 Taupō Super 440
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| Event Information | ||||||||||||||
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| Round 3 of 14 in the 2026 Supercars Championship | ||||||||||||||
 Layout of the Taupo International Motorsport Park | ||||||||||||||
| Date | 10–12 April 2026 | |||||||||||||
| Location | Taupō, New Zealand | |||||||||||||
| Venue | Taupo International Motorsport Park | |||||||||||||
| Results | ||||||||||||||
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The 2026 Taupō Super 440 (known for commercial reasons as the 2026 ITM Taupō Super 440) was a motor racing event for Supercars that was held on 10–12 April 2026 at the Taupo International Motorsport Park in the Taupō, New Zealand. The round consisted of one 120km race as well as a 200km feature, and was the third round of the 2026 Supercars Championship.
The first race was won by Brodie Kostecki in a light-to-flag victory whilst the second race was won by local driver, Ryan Wood. Wood's victory marked the first win for Toyota in the Supercars category.
The event would be disrupted by Cyclone Vaianu. After adjusting the schedule in anticipation of the looming storm, Sunday's track activity would be cancelled and the scheduled third race would be shifted to run as part of the Christchurch Super 440 programme.[1]
Entry list
The event was held on the weekend of 10–12 April 2026. It was the third Supercars event to be held at the Taupo International Motorsport Park, and the first international event of the season, with the other being the Christchurch Super 440 being held one week later.
The event schedule would be altered in response to the looming threat of Cyclone Vaianu that hit the North Island on Saturday evening. The 200 km race would be shifted to Saturday evening, replacing the 120 km race initially in that time slot. That 120 km race would then be shifted to Sunday morning with the racing programme concluding before midday. The top-ten shootout scheduled for Sunday was scrapped altogether in lieu of a conventional qualifying format.[2] However, after the storm situation was reassessed, Sunday's track activity would be cancelled and the third race would be shifted to run as part of the Christchurch Super 440 programme.[1]
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.[3]
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[4], 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.[5]
During the weekend, it was announced that Walkinshaw TWG Racing drivers, Chaz Mostert and Ryan Wood, had signed long-term contract extensions with the team.[6]