De Pasquale, Supercars sign off Taupō with Earth Day tree planting

After a hugely successful inaugural ITM Taupō Super400, Supercars and Dick Johnson Racing driver Anton De Pasquale capped the weekend with a tree planting ceremony to celebrate Earth Day in Taupō.

Monday's event was held in partnership with Total Sport’s Love Taupō Trail Festival, which takes place April 26-28.

De Pasquale joined Taupō-based children as well as representatives from Supercars, Taupō District Council, New Zealand Major Events, Greening Taupō, and Taupō International Motorsport Park owner Tony Quinn in planting 50 trees in Taupō, with a further 1800 to be planted across this week.

The first ever Supercars event in Taupō welcomed 67,411 race fans across the weekend and featured the first Supercars race in New Zealand since 2022.

Homegrown hero Andre Heimgartner won Saturday’s race in torrential rain, while Will Brown out-duelled Red Bull teammate Broc Feeney to win Sunday’s 200-kilometre encounter.

However, by finishing third in both of the weekend’s races, Gold Coast-based De Pasquale scored the most points of the weekend, and was awarded the prestigious Jason Richards Memorial Trophy on Sunday night.

Former Supercars driver Richards was a beloved figure in the Supercars paddock, before the Kiwi racer passed away from cancer in 2011.

Having grown up on a farm in Werribee outside Melbourne, De Pasquale was no stranger to getting his hands dirty, as he joined Supercars in signing off its historic inaugural race event in Taupō.

Supercars now heads back to Australia and will trek across the Nullarbor in mid-May for the Bosch Power Tools Perth SuperSprint, May 17-19. Live coverage of the championship’s annual visit to the west can be found on Foxtel, with live streaming available on Kayo.

Tickets to Western Australia’s largest motorsport event can be purchased via Supercars.com and Ticketek.