Wellington will host its first-ever Race of Champions event, with motorsport superstars set to race inside Hnry Stadium, also known as the “Cake Tin”, on 9 and 10 January 2027.
A special temporary racetrack will be built inside the stadium after Wellington Phoenix’s football match on 2 January. Four-time Formula 1 champion Sebastian Vettel and current F1 driver Valtteri Bottas have already confirmed they’ll race, alongside Kiwi rally champion Hayden Paddon.
Organisers hope other big names, like Kiwi F1 driver Liam Lawson and NASCAR star Shane van Gisbergen, might also take part, though nothing is confirmed yet.
Vettel said he was looking forward to “competing against so many other champions from across the globe” in Wellington. Paddon said it was amazing to see one of the world’s most spectacular motorsport events come to New Zealand for the first time.
Tickets start from $49 for a day pass, with a pre-sale opening on 21 September and general tickets on sale from 22 September.
Motorsport fans across the country will be counting down the months until the world’s best drivers touch down in the capital.
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Te Reo Māori
Ngā Kaiwhakataetae F1 e Rere ana ki Te Whanganui-a-Tara i te Tau 2027
Ko Te Whanganui-a-Tara te wāhi tuatahi ka whakahaeretia ai te Race of Champions, ā, ka whakataetae ngā kaiwhakataetae rongonui i roto i te Hnry Stadium, e mōhiotia ana anō ko te “Cake Tin”, i te 9 me te 10 o Hānuere 2027.
Ka hangaia tētahi ara whakataetae mōrahi i roto i te whare taonga whai muri i te tākaro whutupaoro a Wellington Phoenix i te 2 o Hānuere. Kua whakaū kē a Sebastian Vettel, te toa F1 e whā ngā wā, me Valtteri Bottas, he kaiwhakataetae F1 o nāianei, ki te whakataetae, me te toa reihi Kiwi, a Hayden Paddon.
E tūmanako ana ngā kaiwhakahaere ka whai wāhi mai anō ētahi ingoa rongonui, pēnei i a Liam Lawson, te kaiwhakataetae F1 Kiwi, me Shane van Gisbergen o NASCAR, ahakoa kāore anō kia whakaūtia.
I kī a Vettel e tino harikoa ana ia ki te “whakataetae ki ētahi atu toa mai i te ao katoa” i Te Whanganui-a-Tara. I kī a Paddon he mea tino whakamīharo te kite i tētahi o ngā kaupapa hākinakina rongonui o te ao e tae mai ana ki Aotearoa mō te wā tuatahi.
Ka tīmata ngā tikiti i te $49 mō te rā kotahi, ā, ka tuwhera te hoko wawe i te 21 o Hepetema, ka whai ake ko te hoko whānui i te 22 o Hepetema.
Ka tatari ngā kaiwhaiwhai hākinakina puta noa i te motu, e tatau ana i ngā marama kia tae mai ai ngā kaiwhakataetae pai rawa o te ao ki te taone matua.
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