 On 25 January 2009 Taupo Motorsport Park hosted the fourth race in the 2008–09 A1 Grand Prix season.Owing to the tight 'S' bend close to the start causing collisions in the past, the rolling start was replaced by a standing start for the 2009 event's Sprint race.The Taupo Race Track project has received a Silver Award by the Association of Consulting Engineers New Zealand, praising the high-quality delivery of the project, which was designed and constructed in tandem to achieve very tight deadlines.