This weekend’s inaugural event – the first time Supercars has raced on the South Island – appears a major success with a capacity crowd at the venue on Saturday.
Supercars signed a three-year deal to race at Ruapuna, with owners the Canterbury Car Club having trumpeted a 10-year plan to completely redevelop the facility.
The first step was making sure the basic safety standards required for Supercars were met, while the next will include a pit complex that Mauger admits is badly needed.
Ruapuna’s pit lane currently features a basic carport structure.
The cramped working area resulted in Supercars undertaking a last-minute reshuffle of pit bays, changing Safety Car procedures and banning double stacking to minimise safety risks.
“The way I look at it, Supercars has had the faith in us and I want to return the favour,” Mauger told Speedcafe.
“We’ve got a whole group of like-minded people who have put money in.
“The garages are going in for building consent as we speak and I want to work hard to get them up and ready for next year.”
Mauger said that “a fair bit” of the funding required for the garages is already in place.
“We’ve got the plans and they’re getting priced also as we speak, so I’m pretty confident we’ll get there,” he said.
“For a start we want to build the garages and then, one day, put corporate boxes on top of it.
“This is just to get the initial bit, the concrete blocks there, with all the doors and the power to make it work for the teams.
“If the teams are happy coming here, that’s half the battle.”
Christchurch was chosen by the New Zealand Government and Supercars as the category’s South Island home over Tony Quinn’s Highlands Motorsport Park in Cromwell, Otago.
The government, which sponsors the event, wants to inject economic stimulus into Christchurch, which has the population and accomodation to make it a success.
Highlands, however, is already spruiking a campaign called ‘Project 29’, aiming to snaffle the South Island Supercars round when the Christchurch contract is up.
“Tony is a very good businessman, but it’s up to us to stuff it up,” acknowledged Mauger.
“We’ve got to roll out the red carpet and do everything we can to make sure that it stays here.”
Ruapuna is twinned with Supercars’ North Island event, held at Quinn’s Taupo Motorsport Park, which joined the calendar in 2024.
This article first appeared on Speedcafe.com, a sister site to MotorRacing.com.