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New Zealand’s five best Supercars drivers

Plenty of legendary drivers have emerged from the islands of the long cloud and The Repco Garage will do its best to pick the best five to have raced during the Supercars era of the Australian Touring Car Championship from 1997 until present day.

Shane van Gisbergen

Part of the New Zealand domination of Supercars during the last decade, Shane van Gisbergen is now in the US racing in NASCAR after leaving a winning legacy in Australia. A three-time champion matched by an equal amount of Repco Bathurst 1000 victories at Triple Eight Race Engineering followed after van Gisbergen debuted at the age of 18 in 2007 for Team Kiwi Racing. Almost immediately he was a frontrunner with Stone Brothers Racing and later Tekno Autosports in addition to stints in GTs in America and Europe, rallying and many other disciplines during the past 15 years.

Scott McLaughlin

Following a similar path to fellow New Zealander Shane Van Gisbergen by debuting young and becoming a three-time Supercars champion was Scott McLaughlin. Debuting as an endurance driver for Tekno Autosports in 2012, McLaughlin soon joined Garry Rogers Motorsport leading to great success led by his maiden win at Pukekohe before the squad transitioned to Volvo turning the New Zealander into a bonafide star. A link up with Dick Johnson Racing when Penske had got the formula right led to a narrow title loss before three-in-a-row and a Bathurst win. Now flying the flag for Penske in IndyCar, McLaughlin alongside van Gisbergen will be remembered for their dominance of Supercars.

Greg Murphy

Not a championship winner, but Greg Murphy has left an indelible legacy in the Repco Supercars Championship. Murphy enjoyed Sandown and Bathurst success as he replaced the driver he co-drove with in those events, Craig Lowndes in 1997 at the Holden Racing Team. Internal struggles prevented the New Zealander from taking the crown, but further Bathurst success in 1999, 2003 and 2004, including the ‘Lap of the Gods’ ensure Murphy is rated among the best. Also enjoying great success at Pukekohe during the inaugural events there in the early-2000s back up this.

Fabian Coulthard

A loyal lieutenant to Scott McLaughlin at DJR Team Penske during his marvellous run puts Fabian Coulthard on this list as if he raced in a different era its fair to say he may have won on more occasions or even a title. Coulthard endured a tough beginning in Supercars through a variety of sole starts for teams before being picked up by Paul Cruickshank Racing and flourishing when the team transitioned to the FG Falcon. However, it was at Brad Jones Racing where Coulthard really emerged as a title contender when the Car of The Future ruleset was introduced. A move to DJR Team Penske followed and Coulthard continued to remain a frontrunner until finishing there at the end of 2020.

Steven Richards

As the son of four-time Australian Touring Car Championship winner Jim, Steven Richards had a lot to live up to and he successfully did this during arguably the most competitive era. Scoring five Repco Bathurst 1000 victories during the length of Supercars and proved a consistent race winner during its first decade. Richards joined Perkins Engineering in 2002 and it was a successful move as his stocks rose as a genuine title contender during this period. For 2007, he joined Ford Performance Racing where Richards played a mentor role to Mark Winterbottom and continued the factory squad’s upwards trajectory.

Honourable mentions

New Zealand has been well represented in Supercars by the likes of Paul Radisich, Craig Baird, privateer John Faulkner and the late Jason Richards. The current generation of Andre Heimgartner, Richie Stanaway, Jaxon Evans, Ryan Wood and Matt Payne will aim to continue the country’s giant killing efforts for long into the future.