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Supercars legend Mark Skaife called it the “move of the year” after Payne put his Grove Racing Ford Mustang down the inside at turn one.
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The move, which came during Race 16 of the Repco Supercars Championship at the Panasonic Air Conditioning Sydney SuperNight, drew praise from Neil Crompton too.
“That was the move of the year by a mile,” said Skaife on Fox Sports’ coverage.
Payne pounced on Wood and Percat who were fighting over seventh on lap seven.
The pair escorted each other into the dirt through turn two and turn three in a tit-for-tat exchange.
“Woody was being pretty aggressive at the start. I could see him, he was just losing his fronts pretty early on, so I knew he was in trouble,” Payne told Speedcafe.
“Percat was conserving and I knew Percat was just holding off passing him as long as he could and then once they started getting into it, it was pretty hammer and tong, rubbing panels a bit.
“They got pretty bad runs onto the straight and I didn’t think my run was really anything amazing and then once they started side-drafting each other they slowed up so much that I just grabbed all this speed. I’m like, I’m going so fast, I’m gonna be able to clear Percat by the time I get to turn one.”
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Wood hung tough on the outside of Payne through turn one and they made the slightest contact.
“I think Woody just had the balls to hang it around the outside and didn’t realise that I was there,” Payne explained.
“When I fired it, he came down but I think last-minute he saw I was on the inside so he left a bit of a gap and then I just made contact with his left rear.
“He was sideways and I’m a bit sideways. It was probably the most intense bit of racing I’ve done for many, many years. Probably the most intense racing I’ve done in my car I reckon.
“Just good to get through those guys and obviously everyone saw what happened. They all sort of choked up.”
The pass proved decisive for Payne in his race to finish fourth.
Payne opted for back-to-back one-stop strategies and passed Anton De Pasquale in the dying laps.
“That actually changed our race to be honest, to get through and get the clean air,” he explained.
“It was insane. It was good fun.”
Payne and Wood are only a little over a year apart in age.
This year marks the first that they’ve raced touring cars against each other but they’ve long been mates.
“I’ve known him for 10-plus years now and seeing him come through has been pretty cool,” said Payne.
“He’s obviously holding his own out there. He’s probably got a few things to learn, but I think we all do.
“He’s doing well, good to race against. He’s probably more on the aggressive side but hey, it comes with his personality. He’s a cheerful bloke and I enjoy hanging out with him.”
Payne sits fifth in the Supercars drivers’ championship.
Supercars returns at Symmons Plains Raceway for the Tasmania SuperSprint on August 17-18
