Matt Payne has come away with a podium and a sixth-place finish from Saturday’s two Supercars races at Queensland Raceway, while fellow Kiwis Ryan Wood and Andre Heimgartner also made ground across the opening day of racing at the Ipswich Super 440.
Payne started both 39-lap races from pole position after a dominant qualifying performance, but Brodie Kostecki and Will Brown ultimately shared the race victories.
Kostecki denies Payne in Race 26
Payne secured pole for the opening race by just 0.0255 seconds over Kostecki, with Chaz Mostert, Brown, Broc Feeney, Kai Allen, Thomas Randle, Rylan Gray, Cameron Waters and Cooper Murray completing the top 10.
Wood and Heimgartner had tougher qualifying sessions, lining up 13th and 14th, respectively.
Kostecki made the better start when the lights went out, beating Payne into Turn 1 while the Kiwi was forced to defend second from Brown. Behind them, Brown and Mostert made slight contact in their fight for third, while Allen moved ahead of Feeney into fifth.
Heimgartner also made a strong start and briefly moved ahead of Wood before the latter reclaimed the position on Lap 2.
A few spots of rain appeared early but never developed into anything significant, and Wood began to make progress through the field. By Lap 8, the Walkinshaw Andretti United driver had climbed into the top 10 after passing Murray and James Golding.
At the front, Kostecki and Payne quickly separated themselves from the field. The gap between the pair remained under a second through the opening stint, while the battle behind them fell several seconds back.
Payne was the first of the leaders to make his compulsory stop, pitting on Lap 19 as Grove Racing attempted to undercut Kostecki. Payne took four fresh tyres, while Dick Johnson Racing responded one lap later and opted for three tyres on Kostecki’s car.
The strategy was enough to keep Kostecki ahead once he returned to the circuit.
Further back, Allen and Mostert made contact while fighting for position, with Mostert forced off the road and losing two places. The incident was investigated by race control.
Once the pit cycle was complete, Kostecki remained in control ahead of Payne, Allen, Brown and Feeney, while Wood had worked his way into ninth.
Kostecki held on to take the opening victory of the weekend, with Payne crossing the line second and Allen third.
Allen was later handed a penalty for the incident with Mostert, dropping him from third to fifth. Brown was promoted onto the podium, with Feeney fourth and Allen fifth.
Mostert finished sixth ahead of Gray and Waters, while Wood completed a strong recovery to ninth. Randle rounded out the top 10, with Heimgartner finishing 12th.
Payne’s Race 27 challenge hit by gearbox trouble
Payne once again started from pole for Race 27 and this time made the launch count, leading Kostecki into Turn 1.
Brown held off Mostert for third, while Wood immediately began recovering from a difficult qualifying result, gaining four positions on the opening lap to move into 14th. Heimgartner dropped one position to 18th.
Payne’s lead lasted only two laps.
Kostecki pulled alongside the Kiwi down the straight at the end of Lap 2 and completed the pass into Turn 1. Payne fought back through the following corner and made slight contact with Kostecki, but was unable to reclaim the position.
Wood continued his early charge, passing Aaron Cameron for 13th before moving ahead of Jack Le Brocq into 12th one lap later.
Grove Racing again attempted to undercut Kostecki during the pit cycle, but Dick Johnson Racing responded on Lap 18. Kostecki emerged ahead of Payne, although both found themselves behind Allen among the drivers who had completed their stops.
The race changed on Lap 22 when Kostecki ran wide while attempting to pass Allen, dropping his left-side wheels into the gravel and losing positions to Payne and Brown.
Two laps later, Gray locked up and became stranded in the gravel, triggering the first safety car of the race.
Allen led at that stage from Payne, Brown, Kostecki, Mostert and Feeney, with Wood up to ninth and Heimgartner 16th.
Racing resumed at the beginning of Lap 30, and the fight at the front immediately intensified. Payne and Brown went side-by-side and bumped doors as Kostecki joined the battle, with Payne narrowly holding onto position.
Kostecki found a way past Payne into Turn 1 on the following lap, just as smoke began appearing from the front-left of Payne’s car.
Another safety car was called when Ben Gomersall became stuck in the gravel, although he eventually drove out under his own power.
Payne was also beginning to battle gearbox problems, hurting his chances of fighting for the podium over the closing laps.
Allen led the field back to green with six laps remaining but was quickly overwhelmed by Brown and Kostecki. Brown forced his way into the lead, with Kostecki following him through as Allen dropped to third and then fourth behind Feeney.
Kostecki briefly lost second to Feeney after running wide but quickly reclaimed the position, while Brown took advantage of the fighting behind to open a gap of more than a second.
Further back, Payne was locked into a battle with Mostert for fifth as Waters closed in behind.
Brown ultimately held on to win Race 27 ahead of Kostecki and Feeney, with Allen fourth and Mostert fifth.
Payne brought his wounded Mustang home in sixth, followed by Waters, David Reynolds, Randle and Anton De Pasquale.
Heimgartner produced a strong recovery over the final stages to finish 11th, narrowly missing the top 10.
Despite missing the podium in the second race, Payne continues to lead the Supercars Sprint Cup, holding a 110-point advantage over Feeney.
The Ipswich Super 440 concludes tomorrow with qualifying for Race 28 at 12:55pm NZST, followed by the Top 10 Shootout at 1:40pm and the third and final race of the weekend at 5:20pm.
Header Image: Grove Racing
