Matt Payne and Garth Tander win epic Repco Bathurst 1000
It was a marathon 6hr 52m 14.937s epic, but Matt Payne and Garth Tander won a Repco Bathurst 1000 for the ages.
Despite the immense pressure during the closing stages, Payne took the first Bathurst victory of his career, Penrite Racing achieved its maiden success at the Mountain as Tander joined Mark Skaife and Larry Perkins as six-time winners.
Payne wasn’t the first to cross the line as he followed James Golding, but the PremiAir Racing driver was handed a 5s penalty following contact at Griffins Bend while passing Erebus Motorsport’s Cooper Murray for the lead.
This was all to the advantage of David Reynolds, who scored second in the TRADIE Racing Camaro alongside Lee Holdsworth from Golding and David Russell.
Behind the impressive Murray and Great Race rookie Jobe Stewart, Cam Hill charged his way towards a Finals spot after co-driver Cam McLeod made contact with Nash Morris and was penalised 15s, but it wasn’t to be after a late-race pass by Kai Allen.
It was a disaster race for Red Bull Ampol Racing, with Broc Feeney leading the way in sixth co-driven by team principal Jamie Whincup after the championship leader came a cropper at Forrest’s Elbow.
Andre Heimgartner and Declan Fraser were seventh after a late race pass by Feeney demoted him resulting in the New Zealander missing the Finals in the R&J Batteries Racing Camaro.
Allen made a clutch pass on the final lap to confirm his Finals place after starting 21st after a charge from co-driver Dale Wood early on.
Another impressive run was Aaron Cameron and Zak Best in the Team Blanchard Racing Ford Mustang in ninth after being a podium contender for much of the event.
The Triple Eight race Engineering Wildcard rounded out the top 10 for Zach Bates and Craig Lowndes.
For many contenders, the race was a tale of woe beginning with Cameron Waters and Mark Winterbottom after the latter crashed into the tyre wall at Forrest’s Elbow. This came after three pit stops to change from slicks to wets and back again.
Reigning champion Will Brown made severe contact with the wall at Griffins Bend rendering his and Scott Pye’s push for victory over.
Just like fierce rivals Red Bull Ampol Racing, Shell V-Power Racing Team’s campaign was disappointing. Pole-sitter Brodie Kostecki exited the track on numerous occasions in addition to contacting Allen at Hell Corner leading to a penalty. Further trouble resulted in further delays.
Ryan Wood was a contender until his Mobil 1 Truck Assist Racing Ford Mustang suffered a mechanical problem, which proved a disappointing end after Jayden Ojeda’s superb stint in changeable conditions. This followed teammate Chaz Mostert also stopping on-track and drinking a beer supplied by a fan afterwards.
Richie Stanaway and Jaxon Evans were both late retirees following separate crashes.
James Courtney and Nick Percat both retired due to mechanical problems, while Tony D’Alberto crashed the Shell V-Power Racing Team Ford Mustang at Forrest’s Elbow ending the day for main driver Will Davison as well.
Payne and Tander also secured the Ryco Enduro Cup locking in bonus points for the Finals coming up.
The next round of the Repco Supercars Championship is on the Gold Coast and opens the Finals on October 24-26.
This is only a brief snippet on the action on offer, so check out the highlights below.