If you’re searching for the form man of the Supercars, look no further than Matt Payne.
The understated Kiwi has been on a clear upward trajectory as the sport had headed towards its feature endurance races and, crucially, the finals.
He moved up to second in the championship after the Ipswich Super 440, displacing reigning champion Will Brown. His third place in Tailem Bend strengthened his grasp on the position, while title leader Broc Feeney’s refuelling disaster brought him closer to the top of the standings too.
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He’s the highest scoring driver of the last three rounds, during which time he’s scored a field-best average of 97.6 points per race and 227.7 points per weekend.
Drivers championship, previous three rounds
1. Matt Payne: 683 points
2. Cam Waters: 658 points
3. Brodie Kostecki: 654 points
4. Broc Feeney: 644 points
5. Will Brown: 639 points
So while focus on the Bathurst battle centres on defending winner Brodie Kostecki and championship leader Feeney, shouldn’t Payne be considered among the favourites?
“Yeah, 100 per cent,” he tells foxsports.com.au. “There’s no reason not to be.”
Payne’s statement of intent comes off the back of what’s been the best season of his young career.
Matthew Payne driver of the #19 Penrite Racing Ford Mustang GT during The Bend Enduro, part of the 2025 Supercars Championship.Source: Getty Images
His maiden campaign ended with 14th place but a portentous maiden victory and podium at the final race in Adelaide.
He improved to fifth last year in a season that quadrupled his number of rostrum appearances.
This year he’s up to second in the standings with three wins and five other podiums and has collected an already career-high 1972 points.
Payne arrived in the sport with great potential, but his rate of development has been impressive, with the Kiwi a threat not just for Bathurst glory but for title leader Feeney too.
“Obviously it’s been a big improvement from where we were last year,” he says. “I’m really happy with the progress we’ve made.
“I think there’s a little bit of natural improvement there, but I also think the rate of improvement has changes a lot with how much you work and your work ethic and what you are doing.
“A lot of it comes down to pre-event stuff, just understanding a lot — about the tracks, the car set up, racing. There’s a lot of different areas.”
His rise has also mirrored the arrival of Grove as a consistent frontrunning force.
Grove is second in the teams championship and three times has been the highest scoring Ford team this season, and it’s on average the second-fastest car in qualifying trim.
Average gap to fastest, top five teams
1. Triple Eight: +0.130 seconds
2. Grove: +0.260 seconds
3. Dick Johnson Racing: +0.261 seconds
4. Tickford: +0.265 seconds
5. Walkinshaw Andretti United: +0.304 seconds
Paynes’s rise has mirrored the arrival of Grove as a consistent frontrunning forceSource: Getty Images
“I think this year we’ve definitely got ourselves in a bit of a routine with what we’re doing preparing for each event,” Payne explains. “I think it’s been working well.
“Our car’s definitely been a bit more consistent this year. We’ve changed our bad days from being outside the 10 and being in the bottom half of the teens to now being in the 10 and having a seventh and eight or something like that. There’s a massive difference in points when that’s the case.
“I think the other guys just probably haven’t quite had the consistency and have had those average days — they seem to be having a couple of DNFs or penalties here, and they sort of get shifted back.”
Payne has the equal second most top-10 appearances, with 22 — the same as Feeney and only one fewer than reigning champion Will Brown. The next best is Cam Waters, with 19 finishes in the top 10.
That sort of consistency is apparent when it comes to car speed too. Averaging the gap between each team’s fastest and slowest qualifying performances each round shows Grove to the second most solid team on the grid.
Consistency of average gap to fastest, top five teams
1. Walkinshaw Andretti United: ±0.149 seconds
2. Grove: ±0.150 seconds
3. Triple Eight: ±0.151 seconds
4. Tickford: ±0.217 seconds
5. Dick Johnson Racing: ±0.228 seconds
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“I think our consistency is what’s showing us good points,” Payne says. “We’re definitely taking the opportunities when they’re here.
“But needless to say, there’s always more stuff you can be doing, so we’re always trying to find the next thing that’s going to help us go faster.”
BATHURST IS DIFFERENT
But sprint rounds — where so much of the tone of the season was set — and even the opening endurance round in Tailem Bend are different to Bathurst.
It’s not just that it’s far and away the longest race of the season. The pressure that comes with the prestige is significantly higher. It’s the showpiece race. The Bend is a curtain-raiser for the main event.
“I think it’s good that it sits up on a bit of a pedestal,” Payne says. “It’s probably fair to say it should be. I think the enduro aspect of our championship is a lot different to the normal sprint weekends or your long-race weekends.
“I personally really enjoy the enduro weekends. I like having two drivers and it being a little bit more of a team game or between the two drivers you’re working together to build this set-up and things like that.
“I really, really enjoy the aspect of it, and I think it’s going to be interesting to see how it goes for a lot of people.”
Payne has an advantage when it comes to sharing his car. His co-driver is five-time Bathurst 1000 winner and 2007 champion Garth Tander.
“Obviously Garth’s knowledge is superb and it’s superior when it comes to people on the grid and co-drivers available,” Payne says. “He’s certainly brought a level up for the team, the last few years.
“We’re certainly a lot more prepared this year than we were last year. He always works pretty hard.
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“But it’s also an element that you’ve got two drivers that are trying to do the best thing to make the car as fast as possible. At the end of the day that’s what we’re going to try and do.
“It still is my car and I’m still qualifying it, so there’s a factor there as well.”
Payne has a strong Bathurst record in his own right. The last two years — his only two as lead driver — he’s qualified for the top-10 shootout. Last year he was also the provisional pole-getter with a time that would have put him third on the grid, ahead of his eventual seventh.
But the Kiwi crashed out of what should have been a comfortable top-10 finish with just 30 laps to go.
Tander described it at the time as a case of a young driver experiencing the mental fatigue of the hours-long race. This year Payne’s progress suggests there’s no risk of a repeat, having been a rock-solid performer since the first round.
“He’s been doing a great job this year,” Tander said. “Matt himself has really taken another step in his driving not only with his on-track driving but the way that he approaches the entire weekend.
“I’m really excited to be sharing the car with Matt and helping with his progression and the opportunity he has this year in the championship as we go into finals.
“He’s currently seeded second in the finals, so responsibility and stress is probably more on me than it is Matt over these endurance races to make sure that I can help deliver him the results that he needs.”
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Payne’s progress has been enough that a victory tilt isn’t just a goal; it’s the expectation.
“I think we’ve carried that [expectation] for the last two years,” he says. “We showed in glimpses last year that we could do it.
“This year’s it’s been a lot better. This year we’ve obviously proven that we’re in the fight. It’s cool going to the Enduro Cup second.
“I don’t think it changes anything for us. We’re still definitely going for the win in any race we’re in. That’s always been our goal this year, to score as many points as we can and not do anything too drastically desperate.
“We’re definitely a big step forward from where we were last year.”
Whether that’s enough to close the gap to victory remains to be proven, but in the form of his life, Payne could be poised for his biggest result yet.