{"id":601073,"date":"2026-09-15T12:42:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T12:42:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/601073\/"},"modified":"2026-09-15T12:42:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T12:42:16","slug":"wellington-to-host-race-of-champions-first-event-in-nz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/601073\/","title":{"rendered":"Wellington to host Race of Champions’ first event in NZ"},"content":{"rendered":"

Motorsport royalty will visit Wellington next year with Race of Champions in what will be the inaugural event held in New Zealand.<\/p>\n

Four-time Formula 1 Champion Sebastian Vettel and F1 driver for Cadillac Valtteri Bottas are among the confirmed drivers, with Kiwi rally star Hayden Paddon also set to take part in the race.<\/p>\n

Hnry Stadium will host the event on January 9 and 10, 2027, where a tarmac circuit will be constructed inside the ‘Cake Tin’.<\/p>\n

\"Sebastian<\/p>\n

Sebastian Vettel celebrates on podium after taking his Toro Rosso to victory during the Formula One Grand Prix in Monza, Italy, Sunday, September 14, 2008. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Vettel revealed he was excited to return to New Zealand, saying he encouraged the organisers to bring the event to the country.<\/p>\n

“Before ROC Sydney I went for a first quick visit to New Zealand and was blown away by the beauty of the country, so I told the organisers jokingly can you pls bring the next ROC to New Zealand,” he said.<\/p>\n

“I am really looking forward to competing against so many other Champions from across the globe at the Race Of Champions in Wellington in January and get a chance to visit more of New Zealand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Rally<\/p>\n

Rally driver Haydon Paddon has been confirmed as one of the NZ drivers. (Source: Getty)<\/p>\n

Paddon said it is a huge honour to be a part of Race of Champions in his home country.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s amazing to see one of the world\u2019s most spectacular motorsport events come to New Zealand for the first time ever,” he said.<\/p>\n

“New Zealand is really in a golden age of Motorsport at the moment across so many disciplines and I can\u2019t think of a more fitting celebration of this than Hosting the Race Of Champions that attracts so many of the biggest stars from all around the world. <\/p>\n

“It\u2019s really a historic event for so many reasons and I\u2019m personally incredibly proud to be a part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

More drivers are yet to be announced, including Paddon’s teammate for New Zealand.<\/p>\n

\"Tourism<\/p>\n

Tourism and hospitality minister Louise Upston. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n

Liam Lawson, NASCAR’s Shane van Gisbergen and Indycar’s Scott Dixon and Scott McLaughlin are among the driver options hoped to race alongside Paddon. <\/p>\n

Construction of the circuit will begin immediately following Wellington Phoenix’s A-League match against Newcastle Jets on January 2.<\/p>\n

Tourism and hospitality minister Louise Upston said the Race of Champions will put Wellington on the map for racing fans.<\/p>\n

“This one-off event will draw motorsport enthusiasts from across New Zealand and reinforce Wellington’s reputation for hosting unforgettable major events,” she said.<\/p>\n

Day pass prices will start from $49, with weekend ones being valued from $74.<\/p>\n

Registration for pre-sale tickets is currently live, with pre-sale access opening on Monday September 21 and general admission on Tuesday September 22.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Motorsport royalty will visit Wellington next year with Race of Champions in what will be the inaugural event…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":601074,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,43,40,38,41,39,52],"class_list":["post-601073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-wellington"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/601073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=601073"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/601073\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/601074"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=601073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=601073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=601073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}