Kiwi hero Heimgartner wins chaotic Taupō opener

Local favourite Andre Heimgartner has delighted New Zealand fans with an historic victory in a chaotic first ever Supercars race in Taupō.

Heimgartner (#8 R&J Batteries Chevrolet) defied a pit straight clash, battles with Will Brown and Chaz Mostert, and driving rain to take his first Supercars victory since 2021.

It marked Brad Jones Racing’s first win since Sydney 2020, and Heimgartner’s second since The Bend 2021.

Will Davison and Anton De Pasquale made it a Shell V-Power Racing Team two-three result, with the Ford team making its first podium of the season a double.

The race had major implications on the championship, with Brown (#87 Red Bull Ampol Chevrolet) extending his his championship after nightmare runs for closest rivals Broc Feeney (#88 Red Bull Ampol Chevrolet) and Mostert (#25 Mobil 1 Optus Ford).

After challenging Heimgartner for the lead, Mostert dropped out of contention after he lost his right rear wheel, while Feeney was turned around at Turn 1 before making a late stop.

Heading into Sunday, Brown has extended his lead over Feeney from 17 to 59 points, with Mostert dropping from 97 to 142 points down.

"I am a bit speechless," an emotional Heimgartner said.

"I had Chaz all over me at the start and then, yeah, I was hoping to drive a bit cooler and then he was catching so fast, I had to just put caution to the wind.

"It was quite slippery, especially when we went back out on the new tyres, it really started raining.

"Great for Brad, you know. He put faith in me a couple years ago, and we've been chipping away, so this year's been hard... I'm speechless."

The race was neutralised immediately by the bp charge Safety Car, with Tim Slade’s #23 PremiAir Nulon Chevrolet sent into the inside wall after contact with pole-sitter Cam Waters (#6 Monster Energy Ford).

After Slade pirouetted in front of the pack, a three-wide clash sent Matt Payne (#19 Penrite Ford) into a spin, with Thomas Randle (#55 Castrol Ford) turning Feeney. Randle was hit with a 15-second penalty over the clash.

Cars were taken through the pit lane as Slade’s stricken car was retrieved, with Waters stopping for repairs. On the restart, Brown led Heimgartner, Mostert, Cameron Hill (#4 Supaglass Chevrolet), Davison, Ryan Wood (#2 Mobil 1 Truck Assist Ford), De Pasquale, Fullwood, Jack Le Brocq (#9 TFH Hire Chevrolet) and Randle.

Just after Davison cleared Hill, the Safety Car was deployed again after Bryce Fullwood (#14 Middy's Electrical Chevrolet) was sent into a spin by Le Brocq at Turn 11, with Brodie Kostecki (#1 TFH Hire Chevrolet) just behind. Fullwood was stuck at Turn 11, and unable to restart under his own power, triggered the Safety Car.

The whole field came into the lane, with Heimgartner jumping Brown in the lane. Both Penrite Fords were held up by David Reynolds (#20 TRADIE Beer Chevrolet), with Kostecki hitting Payne.

Heimgartner led Brown, Mostert, Davison and Wood on the restart, with Reynolds and James Courtney (#7 Snowy River Caravans Ford) finding trouble at Turn 1 after contact with Kostecki.

Heimgartner was under immense pressure from Brown, who was being hassled by Mostert. Mostert got by for second, and set off after Heimgartner.

Brown dropped to fifth behind Davison and Wood, before De Pasquale and Randle both went past. Triple Eight reportedly suffered with tyre pressure problems, with Brown ninth and 17th. All the while, Nick Percat (#10 Bendix Chevrolet) was hit with a 15-second penalty after being found speeding under Full Course Yellow conditions.

As Feeney stopped, Mostert continued to hound Heimgartner, with teams preparing slick tyres in the lane. However, showers returned over Taupō, and intensified towards the end of the race.

Heimgartner, Mostert and Davison stopped on lap 40, and the leaders resumed as they were with 20 laps remaining. On lap 42, the race turned on its head when Mostert slowed heading into Turn 1, with the right rear wheel coming loose. The wheel came loose into Turn 4, with the errant wheel cutting through the grass and hitting Mostert’s car.

Replays showed the nut wasn’t secured in the pit stop, with a fuming Mostert forced into the lane and resuming in front of Heimgartner.

With 17 laps remaining, Heimgartner led Davison by 4.4s. With 11 laps to go, drivers began reporting aquaplaning between Turns 8 and 9. By that time, Davison had slashed Heimgartner’s lead to 2.6s. With seven laps to go, the margin was under two seconds.

However, Heimgartner held on and won by 1.1012s, with Davison defying exhaust damage to score his first podium since Darwin 2023. De Pasquale, meanwhile, claimed his first podium since last year's Bathurst 1000.

Wood scored his best Supercars result with fourth ahead of Le Brocq, with Richie Stanaway racing his #26 Penrite Ford from 23rd to sixth. James Golding (#31 PremiAir Nulon Chevrolet) raced from 22nd to seventh, with Waters fighting back to eighth ahead of Brown and Jaxon Evans (#12 SCT Logistics Chevrolet), who also claimed his best Supercars result.

Supercars will return to the track on Sunday with Boost Mobile Qualifying at 8:45am AEST/10:45am NZST, followed by the Top Ten Shootout at 10:25am AEST/12:25pm NZST.

The final race of the weekend, the 60-lap Race 8, will start at 1:05pm AEST/3:05pm NZST.