Taupo International Motorsport Park will host Event 3 of the 2024 Repco Supercars Championship, marking the category’s return to New Zealand after a full season away following the sudden closure of Pukekohe.
The Tony Quinn-owned circuit has, however, already seen Supercars action in the form of Holden demonstrations and all-comers racing at the recent Taupo Historic GP.
Among the attractions was the 2023 Bathurst 1000-winning Chevrolet Camaro, of which Quinn himself and Lowndes were among those to get behind the wheel during the weekend.
For the latter, it was not his first experience of Taupo, but he was taken aback again by the sinuous nature of the first half of the circuit.
“I got a chance to drive Shane’s [van Gisbergen] Supercar on the demonstration and I’ve got to say that, I think it was the late-nineties, I came here and did a drive day for HSV,” noted the seven-time Bathurst 1000 winner during the event.
“So, that was the last time I was actually at this track, and now remembering how tight and twisty it is on that infield section, when we come back here with the Supercar category, it’s going to be really tight and busy for all the teams and drivers to get through this circuit.”
Supercars will use the 3.32km International Circuit layout, which begins with a relatively short pit straight, the twisty section to which Lowndes referred, and then a literal drag strip before a left-right-left complex brings drivers back to the start.
He identified that final complex as a prime passing zone, and also forecast that tyre degradation will be high.
“I reckon this’ll be a great passing opportunity where you get the switchback that leads onto this last corner,” said Lowndes, as he took in the Sunday Holden demonstration session.
“A little short [pit] straight here, but then you’ve got that long, loading left-hander [Turn 1].
“I think there’s no doubt it’s going to be high-deg circuit, from what I’ve spoken to Murph [Greg Murphy] and others that have done a lot more laps around this place than I have.”
Brad Jones Racing’s Andre Heimgartner, who has competitive experience at Taupo including two race wins in a BNT V8s round in the 2017/18 season, previously described the track as a unique proposition for Supercars but also predicted high degradation.
The Triple Eight Race Engineering Camaro which Lowndes and others drove in demonstrations at the Historic GP ran with the now superseded aerodynamic package and rode on Pirelli tyres rather than Dunlops.
The ITM Taupo Super400 takes place from April 19-21.
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