Matt Payne dominates Adelaide finale to maiden Supercars win
Matt Payne claimed his first Supercars Championship victory in the last race of the 2023 season in Adelaide, heading the field from lights to flag.
The Grove Racing driver started from second on the grid but beat pole sitter Brodie Kostecki off the line.
The last race of Shane van Gisbergen, who heads to NASCAR next year, was one to forget as the Triple Eight Race Engineering driver had to retire due to a technical issue.
Team-mate Broc Feeney meanwhile was on the move from fifth on the grid, getting involved in a fight for third with Walkinshaw Andretti driver Chaz Mostert early in the race.
The duo traded places several times and Mostert was later hit with a five-second penalty for contact with Feeney who was able to get past and continue his charge up through the field.
Feeney was however not able to catch Payne in the lead who won the race by close to nine seconds.
Payne’s Grove Racing team-mate David Reynolds claimed the final podium position of the race, fighting his way from tenth on the grid.
Cameron Waters finished fourth for Tickford Racing while Mostert took fifth, coming out on top from a fight with Andre Heimgartner who had to settle for sixth.
Dick Johnson Racing driver Anton De Pasquale finished seventh ahead of newly crowned champion Kostecki.
Erebus Motorsport secured the teams’ title in the final race, beating Triple Eight by 176 points.
