Pole-sitter Broc Feeney converted his front-row start into victory in Race 16 at Symmons Plains Raceway, but Kiwi Matt Payne pushed him hard throughout the 84-lap finale to cap off a strong weekend for Grove Racing at the Supercars Tasmania Super 440.
Payne launched alongside Feeney off the start, and the pair went wheel-to-wheel into Turn 1, with the Kiwi attempting to sweep around the outside before the run to the tight Turn 4 hairpin. Feeney held firm under brakes and retained the lead, while behind them Will Brown and Anton De Pasquale battled aggressively for third after Brown charged forward from sixth on the grid.
Brown briefly ran wide at the hairpin but managed to hold position, while further back, Jayden Ojeda endured a nightmare opening lap. After starting third, Ojeda was shuffled backwards through the pack as Ryan Wood capitalised to move into seventh place. By the end of Lap 1, Ojeda had dropped seven spots to 10th.
Andre Heimgartner, coming off his race victory on Saturday, struggled to make early progress and settled into 17th place behind Chaz Mostert.
The opening strategy phase began as soon as the pit window opened on Lap 6, with Cam Waters and Jackson Walls gambling on an early stop and taking just two fresh tyres. Wood, Thomas Randle, Cooper Murray and Declan Fraser followed with their first stops on Lap 10.
At the front, Feeney began to edge away, building a slim advantage over Payne while De Pasquale sat several seconds behind in third. The fight behind them soon exploded when Brown and De Pasquale traded blows in a fierce battle for position on Laps 8 and 9. Contact between the pair sent Brown onto the grass briefly before he recovered, although the incident cost him two positions and dropped him to fifth.
Brodie Kostecki’s race also began to unravel during the opening stops after a fuel coupling issue prevented the Erebus crew from fully refuelling the car. The reigning champion was told to fuel save to avoid compromising strategy later in the race.
Payne peeled into the pit lane from second on Lap 27 for his first major stop, prompting an immediate response from Red Bull Ampol Racing, who brought Feeney in a lap later to cover the undercut threat. The move worked perfectly for the championship leader, who rejoined with his advantage stretched to around three seconds.
For a brief period, Heimgartner inherited the race lead while still yet to complete his stop, but once the Kiwi pitted on Lap 29, he rejoined down in 16th.
Wood’s frustration boiled over during the middle phase of the race after a slow stop hurt his progress. “How does this always happen?!” he vented over team radio as he found himself mired in 11th place.
The second round of compulsory stops began before half distance, with Wood, Ojeda, Waters, Randle, Mostert, De Pasquale and others diving in on Lap 39. Payne stopped soon after for four fresh tyres and fuel, while Feeney again mirrored the Grove Racing strategy on the following lap.
Once the field cycled through, Feeney remained firmly in control with a 2.4-second lead over Payne. Kai Allen continued an impressive run in third, while Ojeda recovered strongly back into the top six after his disastrous opening lap.
Kostecki’s difficult afternoon worsened when braking problems emerged, allowing Wood to cruise past him and move into ninth place.
As the laps counted down, Feeney looked increasingly untouchable. With 22 laps remaining, the Triple Eight driver had stretched the gap to 4.5 seconds over Payne, while Allen sat comfortably in third to put Grove Racing on course for a double podium.
Heimgartner’s race never truly came alive after his Saturday success, with the Kiwi running quietly in 14th after completing all three compulsory pit stops.
Feeney made his final stop with 13 laps remaining and briefly had a nervous understeer moment exiting pit lane, but the championship leader still retained more than three seconds over Payne despite lapped traffic complicating the Grove driver’s chase.
Behind them, Allen continued to hold third ahead of De Pasquale, Brown and the recovering Ojeda. Wood meanwhile climbed into the top 10 and closed onto teammate Mostert in the closing laps before eventually making the move stick to grab eighth place.
Out front, Feeney was never headed again, taking victory in the final race of the Tasmania Super 440 and securing the 30th win of his Supercars career. Payne crossed the line second, with Allen completing a Grove Racing double podium in third as the team continued to close ground on Red Bull Ampol Racing in the Teams Championship.
De Pasquale finished fourth ahead of Brown, Ojeda, David Cameron, Wood, Mostert and Waters, while Heimgartner came home 14th.
The result also strengthened Feeney’s lead in the Drivers’ Championship, although Payne remains firmly in contention after another consistent weekend.
The Supercars Championship now heads north for the next round, the Darwin Triple Crown, on June 19-21.
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