Payne breakthrough at Adelaide 500, Erebus wins teams’ title

Grove Racing rookie Matt Payne has become a Repco Supercars Championship race winner in the season finale at the Vailo Adelaide 500.

The New Zealander beat pole-sitter and new champion Brodie Kostecki to the first corners and was not headed for the remainder of Race 28 in effective terms.

Triple Eight Race Engineering’s Broc Feeney finished second at 8.5483as in arrears after 78 laps around the Adelaide Parklands Circuit in his #88 Red Bull Ampol Camaro, with David Reynolds making for a double podium for the Penrite Ford Mustangs.

Kostecki got home in eighth and outgoing team-mate Will Brown in 14th, but it was still enough for Erebus Motorsport to beat Triple Eight to the teams’ championship in what was a rotten farewell to the category for Shane van Gisbergen.

The NASCAR-bound three-time Supercars champion reported something loose in his #97 Camaro shortly after his second pit stop and, after several trips back to the lane to try and resolve the mystery drama, was ultimately a DNF.

Brad Jones Racing beat Tickford Racing to third in the teams’ championship thanks in part to Andre Heimgartner bringing the #8 R&J Batteries Camaro home in sixth on the day for the former.

Back at the start, Payne led Kostecki (#99 Coca-Cola Camaro) through Senna Chicane with Chaz Mostert (#25 Mobil 1 Optus Mustang) in third, while Feeney outbraked Cam Waters (#43 Monster Energy Mustang) for fourth on Lap 2 at Turn 9.

Van Gisbergen made early progress from 15th on the grid, before a stoush with Brown (#9 Coca-Cola Camaro) over 11th on Lap 5.

He dived past for 11th at Turn 7 only for Brown to fight back and they bumped up Bartels Road, but van Gisbergen finally made the decisive move at Turn 9.

Thomas Randle (#55 Castrol Mustang) overtook team-mate Waters for fifth on Lap 9 at Turn 9, as Feeney pressured Mostert for third.

On Lap 11, Feeney dived past the #25 Walkinshaw Andretti United entry at Turn 6 but copped a bump at Turn 7 and Mostert went back past.

That attracted a five-second time penalty, and Feeney eventually made the move again on Lap 18 at Turn 4.

Meanwhile, Payne had stretched his lead to two full seconds and Reynolds (#26 Mustang) had risen to seventh.

Van Gisbergen was into the pits from 11th on Lap 15 while Randle stopped on Lap 19 and rejoined just ahead of the #97 Red Bull Ampol Camaro.

He held van Gisbergen at bay initially but ceded position at Turn 9, then copped a bump which caused steering damage when he ran outside of #97 at Turn 4 on Lap 21.

While Randle argued over his radio that van Gisbergen had opened his steering, the incident was reviewed and no further action taken.

Feeney pitted on Lap 20 and Kostecki – at four seconds back from the lead – on Lap 22, the latter still ahead of the former when he got back out.

However, when the Erebus driver was held up by Jack Smith (#4 SCT Logistics Camaro) slowing to enter pit lane on Lap 24, Feeney took the opportunity to divebomb Car #99 and pinch an effective second place.

Payne was into the pits on Lap 24, leaving Waters to stalk Mostert at the head of the field.

Waters got the move done at Turn 9 on Lap 26 but there was no resistance from Mostert because he pitted at the end of that lap anyway.

Waters pressed on until Lap 30, when he brought an end to the first pit stop cycle.

Payne led by 3.8s to Feeney, from Kostecki, Reynolds, van Gisbergen, Will Davison (#17 Shell V-Power Mustang), Randle, Brown, Waters, and James Courtney (#5 Snowy River Caravans Mustang), with Mostert 14th.

Kostecki stuck with Feeney and almost reclaimed second place but was instead outbraked by Reynolds for third spot on Lap 35 at Turn 4.

Waters was quickly making up ground, passing Brown and Randle, then Davison for sixth on Lap 38 at Turn 4, at which time van Gisbergen was 1.8s up the road.

The Race 27 winner wasted little time catching Car #97 and making a textbook pass at Turn 9 on Lap 40, as Payne’s lead over Feeney hit five seconds.

Three laps later, Waters pulled off the same move on Kostecki for fourth.

Van Gisbergen pitted a second time on Lap 45 but was back in two laps later just as Feeney was coming in from second place behind him.

Van Gisbergen stepped aside right at pit entry to let his team-mate through and then stacked behind #88.

The Triple Eight crew tightened the wheels but van Gisbergen returned another two laps later, still reporting something loose, with tyre pick-up hypothesised as a culprit.

The rest of the front-runners continued to file into the lane for their second service, Payne continuing all the way to Lap 53.

He rejoined six seconds to the good for the run home, with Feeney second from Reynolds, Waters, and Heimgartner after the latter apparently had a long first fill.

Kostecki was sixth, from Anton De Pasquale (#11 Shell V-Power Mustang), Randle, Mostert, and Davison, with Brown 14th and van Gisbergen almost four laps down in 23rd.

The latter was soon into the garage, with Triple Eight throwing new springs and shocks at Car #97 in a bid to solve whatever problem existed.

Meanwhile Kostecki was pressuring Heimgartner for fifth but, on Lap 63, ran wide at Turn 9 and instead ceded positions to a pacy Mostert and De Pasquale.

Mostert would then pass Heimgartner for fifth on the run into Turn 8 on Lap 66.

At the front of the field, Payne continued to gap Feeney, taking an 8.7s lead into the final lap.

The Kiwi duly converted for Grove Racing’s second win in three races and the very first of his career, with Feeney second from Reynolds, Waters, Mostert, Heimgartner, De Pasquale, Kostecki, Davison, and Randle.

James Golding (#31 Nulon Camaro) finished 20th, serving a drive-through along the way after he turned Macauley Jones’ #96 Pizza Hut Camaro around in the pits in what was judged an unsafe release.

Jack Le Brocq (#34 Truck Assist Camaro) was classified 14 laps down in 23rd after contact with Nick Percat (#2 Mobil 1 NTI Mustang) put him into the barriers at Turn 14 on Lap 6.

His team-mate Cameron Hill did take the start after a rebuild of his #35 Truck Assist Camaro following a crash in qualifying and finished 17th.

Declan Fraser joined van Gisbergen as a DNF due to a power steering failure for the #56 Tradie Mustang.

Testing ahead of the 2024 season begins in February.

Results: Race 28, Vailo Adelaide 500

Drivers’ championship

Teams’ championship