Supercars committed to racing in New Zealand
Supercars is committed to racing in New Zealand beyond the impending closure of the motor racing facility at Pukekohe Park.
That will leave Supercars looking for a new venue to race at for its annual trip across the Tasman.
The V8 series has enjoyed two long stints at the Pukekohe circuit, which hosted its first championship race outside of Australia in 2001.
It continued to host Supercars until 2008 when the race was moved to the Hamilton street circuit for a five-year stint.
Pukekohe then continued to host Supercars from 2013 to 2019, with the 2020 and 2021 events called off due to the pandemic.
The 2022 Auckland SuperSprint, scheduled for September 9-11, will be the last at Pukekohe.
Beyond that Supercars remains committed to racing in New Zealand, the series "exploring all options" for 2023 onwards.
“Supercars has been informed by Auckland Racing Club that from April 2023, the circuit will no longer be used for motorsport," said Supercars CEO Shane Howard.
“It’s obviously a great loss to farewell a circuit with so much history and heritage to both New Zealand and Australian racing.
“Legends were created there, and it was the location of Supercars’ first ever international championship race. It’s legacy will live on for many years to come.
“While 2022 will mark our final weekend of racing at Pukekohe, we appreciate that through our time racing at the circuit, we have forged great partnerships with Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, long-time naming rights partner of the event ITM and amazing support from our loyal Kiwi fans.
“We have other great venue options available and will now begin discussions regarding our 2023 calendar.
“It’s our absolute intent to continue racing in New Zealand and we are now exploring alternative venues for the New Zealand event for the future.”
Hampton Downs, owned by Tony Quinn, is a logical choice to take over the NZ Supercars round.
The circuit is only 30 kilometres south of Pukekohe and was set to host Supercars in 2020 due to an unforeseen scheduling issue.
The only complication is that significant funding for the events comes from Tātaki Auckland Unlimited and Hampton Downs is across state lines in Waikato.
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