Top-five sport on screen: Why the V8s is a must-watch
Start your engines.
For the first time since 2022, New Zealand will host a V8s Supercars round, with Taupō making its debut as a venue.
The best drivers in Australasia will feature in two 60-lap (200km) races tomorrow and on Sunday, starting at 3.05pm both days.
You can guarantee there will be no shortage of thrills and spills at the Taupō International Motorsport Park as the drivers and teams chase precious championship points.
5– Taupō Super400
When: Today-Sunday. Coverage: From 12.30pm today on Sky Sport 3 (Channel 55). Tomorrow (from 8.45am), Sunday (from 9am).
All eyes will be on Kiwi driver Richie Stanaway as he looks to make a statement in Taupō. With Shane van Gisbergen racing in Nascar, Stanaway is the leading New Zealand driver in Supercars, sitting sixth in the drivers’ championship.
The Tauranga local will be a crowd favourite and would love nothing better than to pull off a third career race win in front of his home fans.
Five Kiwi drivers will feature this weekend: Stanaway, Matthew Payne, Andre Heimgartner, Jaxon Evans and Ryan Wood.
4 – Dragons v Warriors
When: Today 8pm (NZT). Coverage: From 7.30pm on Sky Sport 4 (Channel 54).
Fresh off a thrilling 22-22 draw against Manly, the Warriors are on the road to face the Dragons in Wollongong.
The Warriors haven’t lost since round two, winning three straight games before splitting the points with the Sea Eagles last week.
St George-Illawarra sit 13th on the ladder, but are coming off a 24-12 triumph over the Benji Marshall-coached Wests Tigers last week. In front of the Red V faithful, they will be a stern test at home for the Wahs.
3 – Phoenix v Jets
When: Today 9.45pm (NZT). Coverage: From 9.15pm on Sky Sport 7 (Channel 57).
The race for the A-League minor premiership and top spot for the finals continues.
With just two round games left, the Phoenix and Central Coast Mariners are in a head-to-head battle for first, both sitting on 49 competition points. The Mariners have a superior goal difference (+18) to the Phoenix (+13).
Buoyed by a last-gasp 1-0 victory over the Melbourne Victory last week, the Phoenix take on the Jets tonight.
Who could forget their last trip to McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle, when Oskar Zawada won it for the Nix (2-1) with an 87thminute winner in late January.
2 – Blues v Brumbies
When: Tomorrow 7.05pm. Coverage: From 6.30pm on Sky Sport 1 (Channel 51).
It’s not the greatest weekend for Super Rugby Pacific with no New Zealand derbies on tap until back-to-back beauties on May 11.
While the unbeaten Hurricanes’ clash with the Fijian Drua in Suva today should be a good watch, the game of the round comes tomorrow. Two plays three on the table when the Blues host the Brumbies at Eden Park.
The high-flying Hurricanes are the talk of the competition, and rightly so, but the Blues and Brumbies both own 6-1 records and are sitting pretty. We’ll get a stronger gauge whether the Blues are genuine title contenders after this one.
1 – Chevron Championship
When: Today-Monday. Coverage: From 10am today on Sky Sport 6 (Channel 56). Tomorrow (from 10am), Sunday (from 6am), Monday (from 6am).
Lydia Ko’s quest for the LPGA Hall of Fame rolls on this weekend at the first major of the year.
The Kiwi superstar requires one more victory for the illustrious honour, but will have bigger things on her mind in Texas.
Ko will be desperate to snap her eight-year major drought at the Chevron Championship.
She has fond memories of this tournament, winning it back in 2016 (her last major), overcoming Chun In-gee and Charley Hull by one stroke. It was then known as the ANA Inspiration.
Last year, she failed to make the cut at the Chevron Championship, the first time she had done that in a major since 2019. Ko won’t want to produce a repeat performance.