Matt Payne clinched victory in the third Supercars sprint race at Wanneroo Raceway, beating Broc Feeney by 1.27 seconds as the Grove Racing Ford Mustang had its day.
Race Dynamics and the key incident
Feeney had started from pole in his Triple Eight Ford, leading the opening stint until a strategic pit‑stop sequence turned the tables. Payne pitted on lap 50, Feeney a lap later, and both made identical seven‑second stops. The blue dynamic re‑joined ahead, but the New Zealander nudged Feeney off‑line, seizing the front‑line spot.
The collision forced a wheel‑contact crash that left Payne’s car with a bent rear rim. Although he could feel the damage, the car remained operable and he held the checkered flag, maintaining the lead with a celebratory burnout that never aggravated the rim failure.
Driver reactions and on‑track performance
Matt Payne, speaking after the race, called the moment “under‑cut” and noted the car felt loose after the clash, but he managed the final out‑lap with precision. “It was going to be close, so I kept my speed under control and made the gap I needed,” he said.
Feeney, though disappointed, acknowledged the damage: “I think a tyre popped off the rim but I didn’t feel it.” He described the race as a “pretty disappointing space” for a podium finish.
Anton De Pasquale – Team 18 – moved from sixth on the grid in front of a full power-soft Dunlop package to finish third. He praised the strategy: “The longer race suits us always, we saved fuel early and kept pace.” Cameron Waters, leading from the front row, dropped to fourth after the pace differential between qualifying and race trim.
Young driver Kai Allen overcame a power‑steering problem by moving from the back to fifth, a full three spots higher than his performance the previous year at the same circuit. Chaz Mostert ended sixth in the Walkinshaw TWG Toyota, while Ryan Wood failed to finish due to an engine problem before the formation lap.
Brodie Kostecki’s 12th place finish followed an incomplete first‑pit fire‑fuel fill, forcing a third stop. Will Brown received a 15‑second penalty after a collision with Dick Johnson Racing’s Mustang early in the race, dropping him from a 19th‑grid start to 17th.
Championship standings and next steps
The win pushed Payne’s tally to 1,950 points, a margin of 118 over Feeney and 277 over Waters. Kostecki and Allen trail close behind, with De Pasquale next ahead of the field.
Supercars will reconvene for the final Sprint Cup round at Queensland Raceway on 21‑23 August, where the championship gap is set to test the rivals.
Race result highlights
- 1 Matt Payne – Grove Racing – Ford Mustang S650 – 80 laps
- 2 Broc Feeney – Triple Eight Race Engineering – 80 laps, 1.27 s gap
- 3 Anton De Pasquale – Team 18 – 80 laps, 11.14 s gap
- 4 Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing – 80 laps, 2.38 s gap
- 5 Kai Allen – Grove Racing – 80 laps, 2.99 s gap
- 6 Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw TWG – 80 laps, 7.83 s gap
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