The 2025 Bathurst 1000, Adelaide Grand Final and Jason Richards Trophy winner is understood to be the latest target of General Motors and its homologation squad Team 18.
GM has made no secret of its need to recruit star talent following news back in January that Triple Eight will defect to Ford next season.
Payne, who is managed by ex-Supercars driver Michael Patrizi, signed an extension with Groves towards the end of his rookie 2023 season that was announced as a “long-term” partnership.
The 23-year-old’s stocks have risen sharply since and there’s speculation Payne has a deal on the table that would see him join Team 18 in place of veteran David Reynolds in 2027.
Patrizi makes no secret that he is exploring options for the talented Kiwi, who could become the category’s latest million-dollar driver amid the rising value of stars in the Gen3 era.
“Matt’s contracted to Groves in 2026 and as his manager it’s my job to explore every opportunity that there is for athlete career progression,” Patrizi told Speedcafe.
“As a driver of Matt’s calibre, it would be naive to think there wouldn’t be plenty of people interested in his services: teams, manufacturers, championships.”
Interestingly, Patrizi added that “we do have an opportunity that we are pursuing for 2028 onwards”.
There appears disagreement over whether Payne is a free agent for 2027, with Grove adamant his team has him locked down and that no request for a release has been made.
Grove Racing signed a then 18-year-old Payne to its junior program in 2021 and funded 18 months of Super2 racing before elevating the youngster into a full-time Supercars seat in 2023.
The team is clearly eager to reap the benefits of its investment in the driver, whose 2023 contract extension announcement came in the wake of a sensational Adelaide 500 victory.
“We’ve got Matt contracted until the end of 2027 and we expect he’ll meet his obligations,” Grove told Speedcafe.
“We have no reason to expect he won’t.”
While firm on Payne’s position, a frustrated Grove is understood to have raised the topic of contract enforcement in a Supercars Commission meeting this week.
Citing various contractual sagas in recent seasons, Grove believes the category must provide some oversight in the handling and enforcement of contracts.
Formula 1 utilises a Contract Recognition Board set up by the FIA as an independent body through which parties lodge contracts and can settle disputes without a costly court process.
The CRB has only been used four times since its establishment in 1991, with its most recent case being the 2022 dispute over Oscar Piastri involving Alpine and McLaren.
Back in Supercars, GM’s involvement in the driver market as it looks to fight back from the blow of losing Triple Eight has already created major waves.
Tickford Racing’s Cam Waters, Triple Eight duo Broc Feeney and Will Brown, and Dick Johnson Racing’s Brodie Kostecki have all been locked into new multi-year contracts amid GM interest.
GM Australia & New Zealand MD Jess Bala confirmed to Speedcafe that drivers are “definitely a focus for us” but would not be drawn on specifics.
“We can’t share what we’re doing and who we’re talking to,” Bala said when asked of interest in Payne as part of an interview for the upcoming Summer Grill series.
“Obviously there are discussions happening everywhere right now and not with just us, we know it’s happening with other teams and other manufacturers as well.
“But we will continue to work to find the right driver line-up for all of our teams and for the Chevy teams moving forward across the board.”
GM’s 2026 driver line-up consists of Reynolds, Anton De Pasquale, Cooper Murray, Jobe Stewart, Jack Le Brocq, Zach Bates, Jayden Ojeda and Declan Fraser.
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