In one of the wildest and most unpredictable editions of the Bathurst 1000 in recent memory, Kiwi rising star Matt Payne and veteran co-driver Garth Tander conquered chaos, weather, and heartbreak to claim a famous victory for Grove Racing at Mount Panorama.
Across just under seven hours of relentless drama, strategy twists, and mechanical carnage, the pair rose from 18th on the grid to etch their names into Bathurst folklore.
For Payne, it was a career-defining breakthrough. For Tander, it was a record-equalling sixth Bathurst crown, a mark that places him alongside Larry Perkins among the Mount Panorama greats.
Behind them, a mix of brilliance and heartbreak unfolded for New Zealand’s Supercars contingent. Fabian Coulthard, Ryan Wood, Jaxon Evans, Richie Stanaway, and Andre Heimgartner all played their part in a race that no one who witnessed it will soon forget.
When the race began under gloomy skies and damp patches from early showers, pole-sitter Todd Hazelwood (co-driver for Brodie Kostecki) launched cleanly into Hell Corner, leading Mark Winterbottom and Jayden Ojeda through Turn 1 as the field streamed uphill.
Behind them, chaos nearly struck immediately. Bryce Fullwood stalled on the grid, forcing half the pack to scatter.
Up front, Fabian Coulthard, starting from third alongside Walkinshaw Andretti United teammate Ojeda, lost ground early as both Ojeda and young gun Cooper Murray slipped by.
He settled into fifth in the opening laps, nursing the No.25 WAU Mustang in greasy conditions.
Further back, co-driver Tander began his opening stint for Grove Racing in 18th, quietly picking his way through the field and displaying the measured aggression that has defined his Bathurst legacy.
By lap four, the veteran had already climbed four places to 14th, pressuring David Russell in the PremiAir Racing Camaro.
The race quickly found its rhythm until a handful of drivers discovered that Turn 1 was slicker than it looked.
Oil from Fullwood’s stricken car coated Hell Corner, catching out several cars and setting the tone for a day where nothing could be taken for granted.
As the race settled, the focus turned to the Kiwi hopefuls scattered throughout the field. Coulthard was holding steady inside the top six, keeping pace with the leaders in his opening stint, while Andre Heimgartner and Jaxon Evans were biding their time mid-pack, managing traffic and early tyre wear.
Tander’s first real drama came on lap six when contact at Griffin’s Bend cost him momentum.
Moments later, he was side-by-side with Craig Lowndes, the pair brushing panels on the main straight in a classic Bathurst brawl. Tander came out ahead, a statement of intent from the Grove car early on.
As the first stint unfolded, Hazelwood controlled the race from the front, chased by Winterbottom, Murray, and Whincup, who was showing early pace in the No.88 Triple Eight Camaro.
Coulthard briefly lost a spot to Whincup but maintained sixth, his experience keeping the WAU car in the fight as teams began thinking strategy.
By lap 23, the first wave of driver changes began. Ryan Wood jumped into the No.2 WAU Mustang from Ojeda. At just 21 years old, the Kiwi was handed the reins of a car that had been quick all week.
Almost simultaneously, Jaxon Evans took over the No.12 Brad Jones Racing Camaro, and Richie Stanaway climbed aboard the No.62 PremiAir Racing Chevrolet from Nash Morris.
Two laps later, Grove Racing made their move — Payne taking over from Tander. The young Kiwi’s Bathurst journey was properly underway. Calm but determined, Payne settled into rhythm quickly, sitting just outside the top ten as strategy began to splinter.
Coulthard, meanwhile, stayed in for a longer opening stint, pitting on lap 25 for tyres and fuel while remaining in the car. But not long after, his radio chatter hinted at trouble. The No.25 Mustang began making a worrying noise, the gears crunching between changes.
By lap 40, the race had already begun to twist. Triple Eight drivers Feeney and Brown were flying, Hazelwood was hanging on, and Wood had driven brilliantly into the top five. But trouble was brewing everywhere.
Coulthard’s gearbox gremlins worsened, and the team decided to bring the car in for a driver change. Chaz Mostert took over, but the issue persisted. Within 15 laps, the WAU Mustang’s engine note turned ugly.
Moments after a brief safety car for Tony D’Alberto’s heavy crash, Mostert coasted to a stop near The Chase.
Coulthard’s Bathurst was over — his and Mostert’s first ever DNF together at Mount Panorama.
Behind them, Stanaway’s car wasn’t faring much better. After taking over from Morris, he’d been climbing steadily until contact between Cameron McLeod and his co-driver moments earlier had left the PremiAir Camaro wounded.
Not long after, Stanaway’s race ended in heartbreak as Morris beached the car in the gravel at Turn 1, triggering another safety car.
Evans, in the No.12 Brad Jones Racing car, was faring better. The rookie showed consistency through the middle portion of the race, running quietly in the midfield as chaos erupted around him.
Just after the 100-lap mark, Bathurst’s unpredictable weather gods struck again. Showers began to roll across the Mountain, splitting strategies wide open.
Some teams gambled on slicks. Others, including Grove Racing, opted for wets. The track was treacherous, the leaders slipping and sliding as grip disappeared through The Cutting and McPhillamy Park.
Payne, now back in the car, kept his head as others faltered. The Grove Ford wasn’t the fastest on track, but Payne’s consistency kept him in touch with the front-running PremiAir Racing Camaro of James Golding and David Russell.
Elsewhere, Heimgartner was flying under the radar. Sharing with Fraser, the Kiwi’s Brad Jones Racing Camaro was moving quietly into contention. A string of clean stints and faultless pit work had them hovering just outside the top ten, ready to pounce as others stumbled.
Bathurst’s middle hours are always where dreams die — and this year was no exception.
Feeney’s Triple Eight Camaro had surged to the front after Whincup’s early brilliance, but disaster struck when Feeney lost control on cold tyres, crashing heavily into the tyre wall and bringing out another safety car.
Moments later, another Kiwi story turned sour. Ryan Wood, who had been sensational in his second stint, with 40 laps to go and running in second place behind the safety car, suddenly slowed on Conrod Straight with the car going into limp mode.
The WAU garage watched in disbelief as the car crawled back to the pits. It turned out to be a crank sensor failure.
It was a cruel blow for the young New Zealander. After running flawlessly inside the top five all day and spending a decent amount of time leading the race, his Bathurst ended with shattered hopes and quiet heartbreak.
He and Ojeda would eventually rejoin to be classified 19th, salvaging valuable points to secure Wood a spot in the finals.
As the race entered its final third, chaos was the only constant.
A string of safety cars — for Will Brown’s crash, Macauley Jones’ shunt at Forrest’s Elbow, and Stanaway’s heavy impact at The Cutting — bunched the field repeatedly, erasing leads and testing nerves.
Through it all, Payne remained composed. When others over-drove or made rash calls, Payne kept his rhythm, even as Grove Racing made the bold call to fit only two new tyres during a late stop to gain track position.
With 40 laps to go, Payne found himself inside the top five. By 20 laps remaining, he was in the fight for the win.
When the race resumed for the last time, Murray, Golding, and Payne were locked in a three-way shootout for Bathurst glory. Behind them, Heimgartner had worked his way into fourth, eyeing the podium as the laps counted down.
Murray’s Ford and Payne’s Mustang traded blows around the Mountain — the two drivers showcasing their class in front of a roaring Bathurst crowd.
Payne was quicker across the top; Murray had the edge down Conrod Straight. The tension was unbearable. Ten laps to go, and all three were within a second of each other.
Then, with five laps remaining, chaos erupted again. Golding tapped Murray at The Cutting, sending the No.99 Erebus Camaro spinning. Race Control handed Golding a five-second penalty, but the fight raged on.
Down Conrod Straight, he powered past, briefly touching the grass in a daring move that had the crowd gasping. It was Bathurst racing at its purest — fearless, instinctive, and breathtakingly risky.
Golding reclaimed the lead at The Elbow, but Payne was relentless. With Golding’s 5-second penalty, Payne held onto second place, knowing it was enough to be classified as the race winner.
Just under seven hours, 161 laps, and countless twists, Matt Payne crossed the line to claim his first Bathurst 1000 victory, sharing the triumph with six-time champion Garth Tander.
It was a win for composure, strategy, and Kiwi tenacity. Starting from 18th — the lowest-ever grid slot for a Bathurst-winning car — Grove Racing had defied the odds and mastered the Mountain.
Golding and Russell crossed second on the road, but their penalty elevated David Reynolds and Lee Holdsworth to the runner-up spot, with Golding’s PremiAir duo classified third by just six-tenths over Cooper Murray.
Behind them, Hill and McLeod finished fifth, Feeney and Whincup salvaged sixth after their earlier off, while Heimgartner and Fraser finished a strong seventh, a quietly impressive performance from the Kiwi.
Allen and Wood finished 8th, making it a double Top 10 finish for Grove Racing. Cameron and Best finished 9th, and Lowndes and Bates rounded out the Top 10.
Further back, Ryan Wood and Jayden Ojeda finished 19th, their earlier heroics undone by mechanical failure but still holding onto a spot in the finals.
Richie Stanaway’s day ended in the wall, Jaxon Evans’s day also ended in an early retirement, and Fabian Coulthard’s campaign ended in heartbreak with engine issues.
While Payne and Tander’s triumph stole the headlines, the 2025 Bathurst 1000 reinforced New Zealand’s depth of talent across the Supercars grid.
Payne’s victory marked the continuation of a Kiwi legacy at Mount Panorama — one that stretches from Jim Richards to Scott McLaughlin and Shane van Gisbergen. Now, the 23-year-old Aucklander’s name joins that lineage.
For Tander, it was legacy-defining. A sixth Bathurst win — his first since pairing with Shane van Gisbergen in 2020. The monumental win also means Payne and Tander have won the 2025 Enduro Championship.
From oil spills on lap one to the final-lap heroics, the 2025 Bathurst 1000 will be remembered as one of the most chaotic, dramatic, and thrilling Great Races in recent history.
For the Kiwis, it was a day of mixed fortunes — triumph for Payne, heartbreak for Wood, Evans and Coulthard, resilience from Heimgartner and bitter luck for Stanaway.
But above all, it was a day where New Zealand motorsport once again stood tall at Mount Panorama.
Payne and Tander — Bathurst champions. From 18th to the top of the Mountain. A new chapter written in gold and silver fern.
Supercars returns on October 24-26 for the first round of the 2025 finals at the Gold Coast 500.
Header Image: Supercars
