Supercars Championship: 2026 Perth Super 440 Race 25 Report | Payne wins after strategy masterclass pays off at Wanneroo Raceway
- Tayla Purves
- 2 hours ago
- 6 min read
Photo credit: Matthew Payne | Instagram
The one and only Boost Mobile Top Ten Shoot Out of the weekend took place mid-morning today, Broc Feeney coming out on top with a quick 0:53.648. Joining Feeney on the front row is driver of the No.6 Monster Energy Mustang, Cameron Waters who qualified just 0.0550 behind the Triple Eight young-gun.
On the second row, current Supercars Championship leader Matthew Payne placed himself in third on the grid, joined by a known aggressive young driver, Ryan Wood in the No.2 Toyota Supra.
Wanneroo Raceway only has four races left until the Western Australia round is switched to Perth Park; hometown hero Brodie Kostecki expected to make a lasting memory during the final years of Wanneroo Raceway's reign.
This afternoons race is an 80-lap race, meaning an estimate of 200km's will be tackled with a variety of challenges. Wanneroo Raceway is known for its relentless attack with tyre degredation, but today has a bigger challlenge for the Supercars paddock.
Refuelling will come into play as a strategic challenge. Each Supercar is estimated to start with 133 litres of fuel, with total fuel consumption estimated to be roughly 176 litres. Today's race will require two mandatory pit stops, a refuelling stop expected to take at least 11 seconds to fill up and have enough in the tank to reach the chequered flag.
As it happens
On formation lap, Wood has been asked to come into the pit lane due to an airbox issue - a frustrating start for the fiery New Zealander.
The race starts with an epic battle between Feeney and Waters, the No.88 Ampol Red Bull Racing Mustang taking the lead.
Jobe Stewart towards the back of the pack skids out into the marbles as Rylan Gray is spotted off on the grass - pure chaos breaking loose early on as speculation surrounds Will Brown assisting the rookie at Shell V Power Racing Team during an alleged Turn 6 incident.
Lap 3, Kai Allen is seen battling with Jayden Ojeda towards the back of the field - Allen losing his newly found seventeenth position to Ojeda.
Lap 6, it's confirmed Wood's out of the car - the team given until Lap 20 to fix the issue of the airbox. During the same vision, stewards announce that a 15-second time penalty has been applied to Brown for a driving infringement, essential onboard view showing the replay between Gray and Brown.
Allen and Brown play rough on Lap 10, Allen heading out onto the grass for a short excursion before rejoining with minimal loss to Brown, still relatively close to the tail of car No.888 . Their battle is far from over.
Lap 13, Brown and Allen go at it again towards Turn 1. Their battle one to watch.
Meanwhile further down the field on Lap 14, Zach Bates and Macauley Jones come together, Jones heading out to the dirty side of the track.
Waters and Payne have an anticlimactic battle, Waters giving ample room to make the pass.
Lap 15, Jack Le Brocq makes the second pit stop of the race, Cooper Murray the first to stop last lap.
On Lap 16, stewards announce they've imposed a hefty 15-second time penalty on Bates in No.10 Chevrolet Camaro for an earlier driving infringement. Stewards looking consistent in their rulings for what will be an interesting race.
Lap 20, Brown makes his way into the pit lane taking four tyres and fuel, serving his 15-second time penalty.
Aaron Cameron makes a beautiful save after almost causing a nail-biting battle between Chaz Mostert, his attempt at getting ahead successful but wild on Lap 22.
Lap 24, Le Brocq just misses the barrier after sliding across the sand pit - a battle gone wrong between he and James Golding; the No.4 Chevrolet Camaro out-braking himself massively.
Lap 30, Feeney comes into the lane - taking four tyres and a little guzzle of fuel. His pit stop duration sitting at 32.21 seconds. Six drivers in the field are left to take their first stop including Payne; strategies now in play and expected to show towards the end of the race; a close finish one to expect to close the weekend in Western Australia.
Kostecki had a nightmare of a pitstop, the team confirming they did not get the amount of fuel out of the churn that they'd hoped for. A third stop becoming common speculation for a cranky Kostecki; a fuel flow failure not out of the question just yet.
Lap 34, Payne heads into the pit lane for his first compulsory stop - four tyres and taking their desired amount of fuel.
"We're in an uncomfortable learning period but we've got the right people." a Walkinshaw TWG Racing spokesperson said in the telecast, broaching the air-box failure experienced by young Wood before the race had even began.
Bates has an awkward moment after tyres and refuelling, not quite stopping immediately to serve his 15-second penalty stop.
Lap 40, the halfway mark in the race showcased Waters not putting up much of fight against Kostecki; the No.6 Monster Energy Mustang driver showing his maturity in terms of race-longevity, Kostecki expected to take a long stop later on.
Golding loses a position to David Reynolds on Lap 44, the two leaving a good spec of space to enable clean racing and an easy move for eighth position.
Radio chatter between Kostecki and his engineer erupts, the No.17 Shell V Power Racing Mustang needing to push for a miracle; his focus solely on driving quick as the team figure out their strategy after failure to get enough fuel in for the first stop of the race.
Lap 46, Allen joins a train behind Randle and Reynolds - Allen's tyres six laps younger than Randle's.
Allen hooks in on Lap 47 and makes his way past Randle in a what looked to be an effortless manoeuvre.
Allen got his well deserved eighth position over Reynolds on Lap 48 as ahead, Payne showing his motives to Feeney, the No.19 Penrite Mustang right on the No.88 Red Bull Ampol Racing's tail.
Lap 50 is where it gets interesting, an undercut strategy in play as Payne heads into the pit lane taking four new tyres and a long guzzle of fuel, all while Bates gets a 10-second time penalty for exceeding track limits.
Feeney pits Lap 51 to cover off Payne, four new tyres and a long drink of fuel to match his current rival. The rejoin looks close, Feeney jumping out just in front of Payne, the two fighting side by side - Feeney losing his lead on cold tyres.
Lap 57, Payne suggests his worries there may be a tyre issue - the team confirming it's likely debris pick up and will clear. Meanwhile Rylan Gray looks to be having a rough race, going off into the dirt again.
Lap 59, Kosetcki comes in for refuelling, similar grab issues with the fuel churn visible - speculation around a connection error.
Lap 60, Gray pops into the garage - huge amounts of sand visible in the front grill.
With nineteen laps to go, Payne complains of a rear tyre vibration - a potential outcome from earlier contact with Feeney. His left rear rim looking to be buckled badly.
The Feeney x Payne battle reemerges with less than twenty laps to go, Feeney closing in on the No.19 Penrite Mustang, Payne stating there's oversteering as Feeney takes an inquisitive look before getting blocked.
Payne looking rather wounded gives a slither of hope for Feeney; The No.88 Red Bull Ampol Mustang gaining momentum on Lap 72 as Kostecki stops for a third time, placing him in sixteenth position.
Allen gets rewarded with the Biggest Mover; eighteen positions gained over the course of Race 25 - a mega driver by the young South Australian.
With four laps to go, Payne looks to be holding on despite his heavily buckled rim - but all is not lost yet for Feeney, the No.88 Mustang looking to find any room to make his move as the rim looks to be dislodged from the left rear tyre for Payne; a nail-biting finish unfolding before fans and teams alike.
By some miracle, Payne crosses the chequered flag, tyre still intact, leaving this weekend with his championship lead strengthened in terms of the Drivers Championship and the Repco Sprint Cup. TV coverage later showing Feeney suffering the same tyre fate as Payne, his right rear tyre looking to be slightly dislodged from the rim.
Within points calculation, the Repco Sprint Cup is still in contention for Payne, Feeney and Waters - the Ipswich Super 440 the remaining final round left to confirm the winner of the cup.
The Results
Matthew Payne
Broc Feeney
Cameron Waters
Brodie Kostecki
Kai Allen
Anton De Pasquale
Will Brown
Chaz Mostert
Ryan Wood
Jack Le Brocq
James Golding
Thomas Randle
Andre Heimgartner
Jayden Ojeda
David Reynolds
Cameron Hill
Zach Bates
Declan Fraser
Aaron Cameron
Rylan Gray
Cooper Murray
Macauley Jones
Jackson Walls
Jobe Stewart
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