Supercars drivers meet with Baird
By Thomas Miles
Date posted: 10 April 2025
Racing standards have been a hot topic so far in 2025 and Supercars drivers have personally met with Driving Standards Advisor Craig Baird ahead of the Taupo Super440.
A number of drivers meet personally with Baird on Thursday morning in addition to the mandatory pre-round briefing.
The topic of discussion was racing rules with drivers looking to gain a better understanding on where the line is before they do battle in New Zealand.
Racing standards have been one of the biggest topics in 2025 after some special battles, but also numerous incidents have surfaced across the opening two rounds.
How to correctly perform the readdress among other things came up for discussion after Cam Waters’ Monster Mustang famously beat the two Red Bulls in a stunning drag race to the line on Saturday night in Sydney.
But a number of incidents were also penalised, leaving some drivers guessing.
This continued to be a theme during the frantic Melbourne SuperSprint where some door-to-door dingdongs ended in tears, but only two penalties were dished out for Ryan Wood spinning Jack Le Brocq and Chaz Mostert hitting James Golding.
Others like Matt Payne were left frustrated more were not penalised for other incidents, while Nick Percat personally spoke to the Driving Standards Advisor.
As a result, the news of a meeting is welcome ahead of the Taupo Super440 and more encouragingly Baird himself said it was “very positive.”
“It was a very positive meeting, and certainly one of the best I’ve had with drivers,” Baird told Supercars.com.
“There were a few laughs and a few swear words, but no-one left aggrieved, and were thankful to be there to chew the fat, to ask questions and seek clarity.
“In summary, it’s all about what constitutes hard but fair racing. But while there has been a shift in tolerance, we still have a Code of Conduct to work to.
“A boxer shouldn’t expect to go in a boxing ring and just throw jabs. You have to expect to receive some jabs back.
“Hard but fair racing is just that. Put all drivers on a kart track tonight, and you’d be able to spot if some weren’t giving each other enough racing room, both when passing and being passed.
“Ultimately, I’m here to represent all 24 drivers, and to ensure they maintain a duty of care and accountability. They know what we are striving to achieve.”
Image: Mark Horsburgh
2025 Taupo Super440 schedule (times in AEST)
Friday, April 11
8.10-8.30: Super V8s Practice 1
8.40-9.00: Toyota 86 NZ Practice 1
9.10-9.30: Central Muscle Cars Practice
9.45-10.15: Supercars Practice 1
10.30-10.50: Super V8s Practice 2
11.20-11.40: Toyota 86 NZ Practice 2
11.55-12.15: Central Muscle Cars Qualifying
12.30-13.00: Supercars Practice 2
13.10-13.30: Super V8s Qualifying
13.40-14.00: Toyota 86 NZ Qualifying
14.10: Central Muscle Cars Race 1 (10 laps)
Saturday, April 12
7.50: Super V8s Race 1
8.25-8.55: Supercars Race 8 Qualifying
9.05-9.35: Supercars Race 9 Qualifying
10.00: Toyota 86 NZ Race 1 (8 laps)
10.50: Supercars Race 8 (37 laps)
12.30: Super V8s Race 2 (10 laps)
13.00: Central Muscle Cars (8 laps)
14.05: Supercars Race 9 (37 laps)
Sunday, April 13
7.25: Toyota 86 NZ Race 2 (8 laps)
7.55: Central Muscle Cars Race 3 (10 laps)
8.35-9.05: Supercars Race 10 Qualifying
9.20: Toyota 86 NZ Race 3 (8 laps)
10.15: Super V8s Race 3 (10 laps)
10.50-11.35: Supercars Race 10 Top 10 Shootout
12.00: Central Muscle Cars Race 4 (8 laps)
13.05: Supercars Race 10 (61 laps)
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