Matt Payne secured his fifth victory of the season in Race 25 of the 2026 Supercars Championship in Perth.
In one of the most dominant runs of 2026, Payne secured his second victory of the weekend after a strategy masterclass from Penrite. Producing a podium in every race this weekend, Payne nudged out race 25 pole sitter Broc Feeney for second. Anton De Pasquale surged ahead and was back on the podium in third.
Feeney dominated Qualifying
Broc Feeney will start Race 25 from pole after a dominant Sunday qualifying performance at Wanneroo Raceway. The Triple Eight driver broke the Gen3 qualifying lap record securing pole in the provisional session. Feeney then backed it up in the Boost Mobile Top Ten Shootout, where he edged out Cam Waters by just 0.055s to secure his fourth pole position of the 2026 season. Matt Payne, Ryan Wood and Brodie Kostecki completed the top five. While Anton De Pasquale, James Golding, Thomas Randle, Aaron Cameron and David Reynolds rounding out the Shootout field.
Qualifying proved costly for several key contenders. Triple Eight teammate Will Brown was left down in 19th after struggling for pace, while Penrite Racing rookie Kai Allen qualified 23rd after a power steering failure prevented him from completing a representative lap. Their setbacks handed an advantage to championship rivals heading into Sunday’s final 200km race, with Feeney looking to build on Saturday’s Race 24 victory and further reduce Matt Payne’s championship lead.
Lights Out in Perth
It was lights out on the final race of the 2026 Bosch Power Tools Perth Super 440, but it was Ryan Wood who failed to make the start after issues with his airbag. At the front of the field it was Cam Waters who got the best start, charging ahead of Broc Feeney for the race lead.
While Waters led into Turn 1, it was Feeney who swooped down the inside to reclaim the lead. Rylan Gray dropped to the back of the field after being nudged into the sand pits by Will Brown, while Kai Allen was up multiple places after the opening lap. After a superb qualifying, Aaron Cameron was up two places into seventh, just behind his Blanchard Racing Team teammate James Golding in sixth.
While Brown had made significant gains so far, the Triple Eight driver was handed a 15 second time penalty for his incident with Gray. Allen and Brown started to trade blows as they fought for 15th on lap 11. Back at the front of the field it was Race 23 victor Matt Payne who charged ahead of Waters for second. While Zach Bates was handed a 15 seconds penalty, it was Mostert who began his charge, passing the BRT duo for sixth.
Pit Stop Reshuffle
With two mandatory pitstops in Sundays finale, Cameron was the first driver within the top ten to pit. The BRT car came out down in 17th. Just behind, Brown came in to complete his penalty, dropping down to 22nd. Mostert pitted on Lap 22, however it was Cameron who completed the undercut on the reigning Champion for net sixth.
With it clear pitting earlier was the correct strategy, Golding and David Reynolds were next. Coming out of the pits, Golding had to make way for Mostert. By the end of the following lap, it was Jack Le Brocq who our braked himself into the sand after attempting to pass Golding.
On Lap 29, Mostert reposed Cameron, while De Pasquale completed his first stop, emerging ahead of the pair. Back at the front of the field, Payne was closing in on Feeney, coming within seven tenths before Feeney pulled in for his pitstop. De Pasquale began to close into on Brodie Kostecki, with only four tenths separating the fight for net fourth. Kostecki’s weekend went from bad to worse as the former Champion learnt that he didn’t receive his allocated fuel during his stop. A failure with the fuel pump will force the Shell V-Power Racing Team to bring their driver in for an extra stop to ensure he receives his required amount.
On Lap 34, Payne was into the pits, coming out three seconds behind Feeney, with a multi-lap tyre deficit. Three laps later, his Penrite teammate Allen was into the pits, coming out into 12th, 11 places ahead of where he started.
More Passes and Pitstops
Reynolds, Thomas Randle, and Allen took their turns passing Golding in successive laps, as the three drivers were bumper to bumper on Lap 46. One lap later, Allen passed Randle and Reynolds for eighth as his teammate closed the gap with Feeney to two tenths. With 30 laps to go, Payne was back into the pits, attempting to undercut his Championship rival. Feeney was into the pit lane one lap later, covering a charging Payne.
However, his efforts came without success. While Feeney was initially ahead, warmer tyres for Payne sent him flying around Feeney for the lead of Race 25. Waters was forced to wait behind De Pasquale on the pit exit, with the Team18 car securing net third on track. Jayden Ojeda secured a position in the pits, passing Reynolds.
With Kostecki back in the pits, his field churn had a brief fail before he was able to refuel. The Shell V-Power Racing Team’s day went from bad to worse as Gray was into the garage as the team attempted to clear more sand from his Mustang.
With 18 laps to go, the fight for the lead of Race 25 was once again on. Feeney closed within two tenths of Payne as the latter departed vibrations in the left rear of his Mustang. Behind, De Pasquale pulled away from waters as his teammate Reynolds attempted to hold off Randle. Elsewhere on track, Kostecki’s additional pitstop send him down to 16th as he attempts to make up positions in the final ten laps.
Sprint for the Checkered Flag
With four laps to go, both Payne and Feeney were charging ahead. With an almost eight tenth gap, Payne was fighting through the tyre diffuclties to secure his second win of the weekend. However, Feeney wasn’t giving up. Heading into the Turn 6 braking zone, Feeney attempted to close onto the Kiwi as the battle to secure the Sprint Cup and automatic finals qualification on the line.
With one final lap of racing, Payne was on track to secure victory in Race 25 ad the gap grew to 0.830s. With the checkered flag flying, Payne secured his fifth victory of the season extending his lead in the Championship. Polesitter Feeney had to settle for second, in a decisive weekend for the Triple Eight Racing Team. De Pasquale came home to secure third, solidifying himself as the dominant Chevrolet driver.
Waters crossed for fourth while Kai Allen finished in fifth, gaining 18 positions. Mostert also secured a comeback drive, finishing in sixth ahead of Cameron who secured his best result since the opening round in Sydney. Ojeda managed to secure eighth nudging out Reynolds, while Randle rounded out the top ten to secure valuable points in his hunt for a Finals position.
The 2026 Supercars Championship returns on the 21st of August for the Century Batteries Ipswich Super 440 to round out the 2026 Sprint Cup.
Final Supercars Race 25 classification and results from Perth
- Payne
- Feeney
- De Pasquale
- Waters
- Allen
- Mostert
- Cameron
- Ojeda
- Reynolds
- Randle
- Heimgartner
- Kostecki
- Murray
- Golding
- Le Brocq
- Fraser
- Brown
- Stewart
- Hill
- Walls
- Jones
- Bates
- Gray
- Wood
