Matt Payne has reversed his fortunes at the ITM Christchurch Super 440, winning today’s second Supercars race in front of a sold out crowd at Ruapuna Raceway.
It’s redemption for the 23-year old from Auckland, who was in the mix to win today’s earlier race before a loose wheel in his pit stop undid his chances.
“Our car has been fast all day,” said Payne. “We rolled out strong and to get the win is so epic.
“I thought we would get it in the first race but that didn’t’ happen after we lost a wheel, so grateful to bring it home. It’s such a cool track so to win in front of a home crowd and so cool to wave to the fans who have been sitting around all day.”
“It’s really awesome after an eventful day. Really happy with a clean race as we were able to execute what we needed to do. Great in front of a home crowd who seem to have enjoyed the day.
He was followed across the line by Gold Coaster Broc Feeney in second, some 11 seconds in arrears of Payne, while Warragul’s James Golding took a popular third for the Blanchard Racing Team.
“Certainly been a challenging weekend,” said Feeney. “For us being able to finish second is awesome but Matt finishing first shows how much we still have to do.”
Payne becomes the sixth different winner in the 2026 Repco Supercars Championship season, just 12 races into the year.
It is the Grove Racing driver’s third win on home soil, in addition to two wins in Taupō last year.
Fellow Kiwi and pole sitter Ryan Wood finished fourth in Race 12 with Brodie Kostecki rounding out the top five.
Kostecki’s lead over Broc Feeney in the overall championship has shrunk slightly to a 61-point advantage heading into the final race of the weekend tomorrow.
Tomorrow’s race is also the final in the battle for the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy, scored over the Taupō and Christchurch events.
Wood leads the JR Trophy standings by 33-points heading into tomorrow’s 200-kilometre race.
He would be the fourth Kiwi to win the prestigious award, joining Scott McLaughlin, Shane van Gisbergen, and Payne who won last year’s accolades.
Tomorrow’s action at Ruapuna Raceway begins at 11:50 a.m. NZST with Boost Mobile Qualifying, followed by the Boost Mobile Top Ten Shootout at 12:45 p.m. to finalise the grid for Sunday’s race.
The 61-lap finale at the ITM Christchurch Super 440 begins at 3:05 p.m. NZST.
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