Supercars driver Richie Stanaway reckons Taupō will be just the place he can get his first solo race win in the category.
Despite having won a Sandown 500 and a Bathurst 1000 crown, the New Zealander wants to win a Supercars race on his own and feels he’s not there yet.
“It’s been disappointing so far this season,” he said. “It’s by all means not a bad start this season, we are sitting sixth, but I set some high expectations for myself this year.
“I want to be winning but we haven’t been close to that yet.”
This weekend would be a great time to turn it around and get on top of the podium.
“I haven’t won a sprint race yet and it’s a box that I haven’t ticked and want to do sooner rather than later.”
While all the drivers in the field have had a drive around the Taupō circuit, none has raced a Supercar there.
With this in mind, Stanaway feels it’s pretty much a clean slate for everyone and could play into his hands.
He’s been a bit behind the eight-ball during the opening races of the 2024 season as most of the championship contenders have had a march on him, having raced the Gen3 cars on all the Aussie circuits.
No one has that advantage this weekend, though.
“I’m looking forward to the level playing field at Taupō,” he said.
“I raced Formula V and Formula Ford here early in my career, but it’s been a while since I’ve been here, so that’s not going to help.
“All the drivers have come over and done test days here, so everyone knows which way the track goes.
“Anyone in the field this weekend who has the right setup can potentially win.”
Stanaway’s previous foray as a full-time driver in Supercars wasn’t covered in glory for several reasons.
It’s not as if he came into the category as a racing novice, having an impressive racing CV. He won the German F3 championship, the ADAC Formula Masters championship, and had wins in GP3 (now F3), GP2 (now F2), the WEC and Super2. This year, though, the 32-year-old is positive he can do good things in Supercars.
“I like the new generation of the car and I’m progressively getting more comfortable in it.
“Everyone has the same car now, so it’s about finding what the driver is comfortable with.
“Now it’s more about the driver feeling comfortable in the car and finding a way to get the speed out of the car.
“The last time I raced in Supercars, it was about the teams who had the most money and could afford to get the best parts manufactured.
“With the cars all the same now, it’s all about the driver.”
While not quite at the other end of the spectrum, 20-year-old Ryan Wood is experiencing his first season in the main game.
An undoubted talent with big kudos from the likes of Shane van Gisbergen and others, Wood finished third in the 2023 Super2 series with five wins.
The opening six races of the 2024 Supercars season have seen Wood show flashes of pace, which should bode well for a good race weekend at Taupō.
“I’m looking forward to racing in front of the home crowd and hoping it’ll make me a few tenths [of a second] faster,” he said.
“It’s been a bit of a tough initiation so far, but we’ve had some good qualifying results.
“I’m looking to a clean race this weekend and getting a few points.”
Wood probably has the least amount of seat time in Supercars and isn’t daunted by that fact. He knows if he puts his best foot forward the results will come.
“The step up from Super2 has been quite big and all the guys in the main game are super-competitive and have a lot of experience.
“The team has given me all the right tools to do the job and it’s now up to me to put it all together and get the results this weekend I know we are capable of.
“I’m looking forward to being back home and racing in front of the fans.”
Andre Heimgartner
With the departure of Shane van Gisbergen to Nascar in 2024, Heimgartner has taken on the mantle of being the senior New Zealander in Supercars. He may only be 28 years old, but the Kiwi is in his 10th season in the category. He and the team haven’t quite reached the heights of last year but it’s early days yet. Heimgartner is a proven quantity and after a dismal round at Albert Park, he and the team have had four weeks to get the car sorted. To get a win in front of home crowd and family will be all the motivation Heimgartner will need to get himself onto the top spot of the podium.
Richie Stanaway
This bloke already has an envious international pedigree and is now looking to cement himself as a Supercars’ championship challenger. He already has two prestigious race wins under his belt — a Sandown 500 and Bathurst title — and is now very keen to get a solo drive win. He’s been quick since the start of the season and the longer he spends in the Gen3 car the better he’s going to get. He hasn’t raced in front of a home crowd since 2019 and having family and friends in the crowd will only bode well for a top result. Taupo might just be the place to get his first solo win and if not a podium finish is definitely on.
Matthew Payne
It seems the likeable Payne has been around for quite a while. However, he’s still a newcomer to the main game, and best of all for him and the team is that they know how to win. He’s only raced in 14 rounds so far in his Supercars’ career and already has an Adelaide 500 win, a race win, a pole position and two added podiums. He was also on track to potentially grab another two wins at Melbourne if he hadn’t got involved in two racing incidents. Payne will not only be an outside chance of a win, but a genuine contender to clean up over the weekend.
Ryan Wood
One of the youngest drivers in the field has big wraps on his talent. Chief among them is former Supercars’ champion Shane van Gisbergen who reckons he’s one for the future. While his start to the season in the main game hasn’t set the world on fire, the talent is obviously there, and racing back on home soil could just be the incentive he needs to push on up through the field. Along with Stanaway, Wood might just be a bit of dark horse this weekend.
Jaxon Evans
Not dissimilar to Wood, Evans has undoubted talent as indicated by his time racing Porsches, but he too has struggled a little in coming to grips with the Gen 3 Supercar. Although a local, he’s not raced around the Taupo track before but is aware of its challenging attributes including high tyre degradation. He’ll be looking to take the opportunity of racing in front of a home crowd and all the local support to move up through the field. His team Brad Jones Racing has struggled a little with braking issues in the car. If this has been sorted Evans could comfortably be a mid-field challenger.
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