Penrite Racing have been slapped with a fine and docked Supercars championship points after Matt Payne’s wheel came off on a day of highs and lows in Christchurch on Saturday. The Bathurst champion saluted in Saturday’s second race to shake off what had been a tumultuous weekend leading up to that.
He was dudded in Friday’s race when marshals mistakenly displayed yellow flags and safety car boards on the opening lap. Payne dropped from second to fourth when he slowed down, but the safety car conditions were never actually called and racing continued after he’d been overtaken and lost valuable ground.
Penrite have copped sanctions in the wake of Matt Payne’s win in Christchurch. Image: Penrite/Getty
There was further frustration in Saturday’s first race when he tried a lighting-fast pit-stop to try and under-cut leader Brodie Kostecki, but in their rush his pit-crew failed to properly secure his right rear tyre. The wheel came off mid-race and smashed into a signage board, causing Payne to finish way back in 19th.
He finally turned things around by winning Saturday’s second race, before officials handed down sanctions for the wheel mishap later on Saturday. Motorsport Australia announced that Penrite had been stripped of 30 points in the team championship, and fined $1500.
“The Stewards reviewed the relevant broadcast vision of the pit stop,” officials said in a statement. “The vision showed Car 19 was serviced in the pits and both rear wheels were changed.
“The right rear was not properly secured and separated from the car once back on track. The Stewards conclude that the car was released in an unsafe condition and the penalty is consistent with other penalties imposed for similar incidents.”
It comes after Penrite were also docked 30 points last weekend in Taupo for a personnel breach. It put Penrite on 1347 points before Sunday’s race – 74 behind leaders Red Bull (Broc Feeney and Will Brown).
Matt Payne finished 19th after his wheel came off. Image: Fox Sports
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Feeney came second on Saturday afternoon after he and Brown both suffered pit-lane issues of their own. The Triple Eight drivers lost valuable time due to rattle gun issues, which have since been rectified. Brown finished 13th in Saturday’s second race as a result.
And Kostecki’s Mustang has received a new engine after suffering issues due to the dust at Ruapuna. The Ford driver won Saturday’s opening race, but fell back to fifth in the second.
He experienced engine issues due to the dust clouds that have been covering the track when drivers go slightly off. “I couldn’t even see where I was going,” he said. “My windscreen got really dirty around lap 5, lap 6, and it was quite hard to see all the marbles and stuff off line.”