Matt Payne capped off a dominant weekend at Ruapuna with victory in Race 13 of the ITM Christchurch Super 440, leading home a Grove Racing 1-2, while fellow Kiwi Ryan Wood suffered late heartbreak in the fight for the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy.
Payne set the tone early, topping both parts of qualifying before converting that speed into pole in the Top Ten Shootout. The Grove Racing driver was the only one to dip into the 1:20s in Q2, underlining his pace across the field.
Wood’s session was more eventful. He briefly topped Q1 before running wide at Turn 2 but recovered well to progress through to the Shootout, eventually qualifying third. It was a crucial result in his Jason Richards Memorial Trophy bid.
Andre Heimgartner, however, had a tougher outing, with all Brad Jones Racing cars knocked out in Q1, leaving him to start from 20th.
In the Shootout, Payne delivered again to secure pole, while Anton De Pasquale split the Kiwis in second. Wood rounded out the top three.
Payne made a clean start to lead into Turn 1, while Wood lost ground off the line and dropped to seventh. Behind them, Kai Allen surged from sixth to third by Turn 4, and Will Brown moved into second.
Further back, an early incident involving Jackson Walls, Rylan Gray and Aaron Cameron, which also collected David Reynolds and brought out the safety car.
On the restart, Wood and De Pasquale made contact, dropping De Pasquale down the order. Up front, Payne began to edge away as Allen and Brown battled over second.
As the race settled, pit strategy came into play. Allen was among the first to stop, successfully undercutting Brown. Heimgartner also pitted early as he worked to recover from his starting position.
Payne stayed out longer and built a significant buffer before his first stop on Lap 25, rejoining still comfortably in the lead. Once stops cycled through, he led Allen by just under five seconds, with Broc Feeney, Brown and Brodie Kostecki behind.
Wood remained in the mix, effectively inside the top six once pit strategies played out, while Heimgartner worked his way forward into the top 10.
By Lap 37, Payne had extended his lead to nearly 10 seconds. Behind him, Allen was holding off Feeney, with battles continuing throughout the field as drivers completed their second stops.
The final round of stops saw Payne rejoin with a nine-second lead over Allen, with Feeney close behind in third. Wood was still in contention inside the top 10, and Heimgartner had climbed to 11th.
With seven laps remaining, Wood’s race came to an abrupt end when his car slowed on the main straight and stopped, bringing out the safety car. It was a major blow in the context of the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy, where he had been in a strong position.
The race restarted with three laps to go. Grove Racing instructed Allen to hold position behind Payne and defend from Feeney.
There was further drama behind when Kostecki was forced off the road by Mostert and spun, dropping to the back. Mostert later received a 30-second penalty.
At the front, Payne remained in control to take a clear win, completing a clean sweep from pole. Allen followed him home for a Grove Racing 1-2, while Feeney finished third, enough to secure the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy after Wood’s retirement.
Golding, Waters, Brown, Le Brocq, Heimgartner, Murray, and Fraser rounded out the top 10, with Heimgartner recovering well to finish eighth after starting 20th.
The late incident involving Kostecki also impacted the championship standings, with Feeney leaving New Zealand with the points lead.
Supercars now heads into a five-week break before returning for the Tasmania Super 440 in late May.
Header Image: Supplied
