Matt Payne has claimed victory in Race 2 of the Dunlop Super2 Series at Sandown after a time penalty to Dean Fiore.
The race ended in chaos due to mud on the road at Turn 3, which accounted for a number of front runners little more than half a lap from the time certain finish.
Payne shadowed Fiore to the flag safe in the knowledge he had a time penalty, with Jack Perkins second and Zak Best thing.
Fiore got the start to lead the field into Turn 1, Payne going around the outside of Maxwell at the opening left-hander.
However, there were questions over Fiore who was long in his grid box, his front wheels in front of the hatching.
Seventh at the end of the opening lap marked a four place gain for Tyler Everingham, Best making up the same ground to sit ninth.
A mistake from Maxwell at Dandenong Road saw the pole-sitter wide, dropping two places as a result.
Everingham made his way by on Hill on Lap 3 at Dandenong Road in a forceful move.
Announced as the field worked Lap 5, race control advised Fiore would pick up a five-second penalty for starting outside of his grid box.
The Nissan driver held just a 0.8s advantage over Payne in second, the top seven covered by the all-important five seconds to that point.
Drama in the pack saw Declan Fraser turned around as he and Maxwell squabbled as they entered the final complex on Lap 7.
The series leader fell to 17th as a result of the clash, while Everingham remained fifth, followed by Best, Hanson, Maxwell, Angelo Mouzouris, Hill, and leading Super3 contender Kai Allen.
For his part in the drama, Maxwell was handed a 15 second penalty for a driving infringement.
The final complex proved a hot spot as Hill passed Mouzouris as the field bunched up behind them looking for an opportunity.
It began with Matt McLean and Mouzouris battling on the exit of Dandenong Road and ended with the pack running three-wide into the penultimate corner.
James Masterton triggered the Safety Car after he came together with Garry Hills at Turn 1 on Lap 11, the former unable to continue, parking on the grass at Turn 3.
The lengthy recovery saw the race go time certain, Fiore heading the field to the restart while in the back Morse, Harris and Hislop had issues in the pack and took to the lane.
Allen ran wide at the opening corner, damage to the front of his car as he fell to 28th, promoting Brad Vaughan to the Super3 race lead.
It proved the be the penultimate lap, which witnessed utter carnage at Turn 3.
Jason Gomersall had a moment on the restart lap, littering the track with mud which saw Chahda, Maxwell, and Mouzouris all come unstuck in dramatic fashion.
Fiore held on to reach the flag first from Payne, who picked up the win with Perkins second.
Best completed the podium ahead of Everingham as Fiore fell to fifth.
Fraser stayed out of trouble to recover to ninth, one spot back from Vaughan who was eighth outright.
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