Taupō’s Revving Revolution
- Written by
- Dee Wilson
Supercars roar into New Zealand
The man tasked with turning out Taupō Motorsport International Park in pristine condition for the upcoming Repco Supercar Championship series in April (19-21) is no stranger to the world of Supercar racing.
General manager of the Taupō International Motorsport Park Martin Collins, has been in the job since December 2021, when the facility was bought by Gold Coast based entrepreneur and motor racer Tony Quinn.
He is down to earth and understated in his approach to meeting deadlines for the major event. But when he starts talking about what makes Supercar events such a big deal in Australia and New Zealand – his eyes light up. It’s hard – even for the initiated like myself – not to get interested.
Martin says Supercars is quite simply a “spectacular show” that remains the pinnacle of motorsport in south-east Asia with huge economic benefits for host regions. In his own words “there’s nothing bigger”.
He should know. After a successful stint in the 1990s as team manager for BMW Motorsport NZ, taking out seven consecutive New Zealand touring car championships, he was approached to set up a New Zealand team, Team Kiwi Racing, to compete in the Australian V8 Supercar championship.
Martin Collins - General Manager“The whole idea was to compete at Bathurst in October 2000. We were thrown in at the deep end, it was a huge learning curve and the enormity of what we had jumped into soon hit us,” he recalls.
At that time every State had Supercar rounds with as many as 40 cars on the grid and a host of dedicated passionate fans literally born with red (Holden) blood or blue( Ford) blood.
He says to this day Supercars remain “next level” for competitors and spectators. “It is an aggressive exciting sport and the personalities are big and attract the fans which is all part of the drama.”
“Everything in Supercars is driven by an utter desire to win that is not just about financial reward.”
Martin says while competition is fierce, the camaraderie between teams is unbelievable.
“There’s something about working and being around like minded people who are all wanting to win – but at the end of the day are all there for each other when things go bad or someone needs support.”
“It really just sucks you in on all levels.”
After five seasons with Team Kiwi he returned to New Zealand to take up a position with BMW setting up and running a European MINI Challenge series and doing BMW diver training in the off season.
He relocated from Pukekohe to a new base at Hampton Downs, owned by Gold Coast based entrepreneur and racer Tony Quinn, as soon as it opened. A discussion with CEO Josie Spillane led to him taking a position in Taupō – a favourite holiday spot for the family – as operations manager of the Taupo Motorsport Park in December 2021 when Quinn purchased the facility.
The Taupō facility is now one of three New Zealand tracks owned by the Quinn group including Hampton Downs and Highlands Motorsport Park in Cromwell. Tony Quinn also owns a fourth circuit in Australia – Queensland Raceway.
He is also a major shareholder of Supercars team, Triple Eight Racing that featured New Zealand star driver Shane van Gisbergen before his departure to Nascar in November.
Martin was promoted to general manager of the Taupo motorsport park in 2022. He says after years in race management and development the job of bringing the facility back to the high standard required by the owner at each of his tracks offers a new challenge.
He lived on-site for five weeks when he started the job and used to walk the track in the evenings. “It has a really good feel and I always thought it was made for great things.”
He says getting the Repco Supercars Championship is icing on the cake and testament to Tony Quinn’s vision for the future of motorsport and the efforts of CEO Josie Spillane to secure the event.
Martin and a small team made up initially of a head groundsman, two ground staff, office manager, and a sales and functions manager were well into work on a development plan when the championship was confirmed in the middle of 2023.
In pragmatic fashion he says the work timetable has just accelerated to meet the April deadline. That includes everything from upgrading safety related infrastructure and the track surface to on-going development and maintenance.
Martin says the beauty of Taupo’s 3.4 km long international track are the technical sections and one very long back straight that could see Supercars reach speeds in excess of 250 km/hr.
He says Tony Quinn sets very high standards for all his motor-racing tracks. Each of the tracks is based on the same model, and the ground staff at Taupo take great pride in keeping the track and surrounds looking pristine. That includes immaculate mowing strips on grass areas adjacent to the track.
The work plan is going to schedule and Supercar officials who have made regular visits to the track in recent months have been full of compliments for the way it is presented.
Under the contract, Taupo Motorsport Park provides the facility and Supercars run the event looking after everything from grandstands and corporate marquees to port-a loos.
Martin brought the BMW MINI Challenge series to the Taupo international circuit to race as a support category for the first A1GP meeting in 2006.
He says the Supercar championship is not dissimilar in terms of audience and Taupo’s proven record hosting A1GP events has been a great selling point.
Twenty four privately owned Australian Supercars will be competing in the Taupo event – which will include four to five support racing categories. Martin says although the teams are all Australian owned, kiwi drivers have taken out the championships for the last five seasons and there are a number of young New Zealand upcoming drivers which keeps the trans-Tasman rivalry alive.
In the lead up to the Supercars championship there’s plenty of action at the motorsport park over summer with race meetings almost every weekend ranging from motorcycle, cars, and drifting to cruise events.