Matt Payne took a solid victory in the final Supercars race of the season on the streets of Adelaide, but all eyes were on the battle for the championship, which was ultimately won by Andretti United rickshawIt is Chaz Mostert.
Payne and his Grove Race Ford Mustang dominated what was a dramatic race for everyone but him. He took the lead from the first row of the grid and simply moved away from the pack, in the same way he took his first victory at this same circuit two years ago.
Advertisement
“I don’t know what it’s about Sunday, we just seem to keep performing,” Payne said after his fifth win of the season.
“A really good start, I was really happy to get it. Woody was putting a lot of pressure on me, the car was super fast today and I just had to get it home.”
After a busy Saturday, Mostert was impeccable on Sunday. Starting fourth, he moved into second place and, although he did not reduce the 5.9 seconds lead on the leader, he was more than happy to be second on the day.
Advertisement
“I can’t believe it. You start to doubt it year after year and I always believed I could do it,” Mostert said after winning his first Supercars title in his 12th season at the top level. “Thank God for the finale, huh?”
“They (Team WAU) kept me focused, the last 38 laps were a blur, to be honest. I just kept looking at the laps to go.
“It’s amazing to win with Ford. I started with Ford early in my career. I looked up to people like Marcos Ambrose, who is here today. To join the list of champions to win this with a Ford is fantastic.”
Advertisement
Matthew Payne, Ford Mustang GT of Grove Racing
Matthew Payne, Ford Mustang GT of Grove Racing
On his last drive in a Chevrolet Camaro Triple Eight, Will Brown finished third – a good result from eighth on the grid for the 2024 champion, but one that probably didn’t mean much to his team, given the circumstances on the other side of the garage.
“It was great to finish third, to be honest,” he said. “This opens the game up for next season. Chaz has done a fantastic job, he is a deserving champion.”
Advertisement
Broc Feeney has been the man to beat and title favorite since March, but on the final day of the season things could hardly have been worse. After its 19th pole position of the season, on the first lap, the second-placed Chevrolet Triple Eight was hit entering turn 6, Ryan Wood looking for passage in his WAU Ford. In a flash, Feeney had to turn around to get back on the field, now in 21st position, and he was facing a Brown-style recovery attempt.
At the same time, Jack Le Brocq suffered contact in the Erebus Motorsport Chevrolet, prompting a safety car. This seemed to save the day for Feeney, leaving him just 8 seconds behind the leader.
Then, mid-race, Feeney reported an intermittent engine misfire – for the second race in a row and, ironically, in the team’s final race with KRE-prepared Chevrolet engines.
Advertisement
He held on but the car had little pace and at the checkered flag he was back in 20th place and overtaken by the leaders.
“It’s been a phenomenal year, something I’ll be proud of for the rest of my life,” he said through tears. “It’s the new (finals) system, you can have a great year and it all disappears in the last race of the year.”
Kai Allen had a great day for Grove Racing by finishing fourth, underscoring his place in the Finals system and rounding out what has been an impressive rookie season. Anton De Pasquale took fifth place for Team 18 And Brodie Kostecki finished sixth in the Dick Johnson Racing Ford, in front André Heimgartner (Brad Jones Racing Chevrolet), Thomas Randle (Tickford Racing Ford) and Cameron Hill (Matt Stone Racing Chevrolet).
Advertisement
Read also:
Supercars Adelaide: Broc Feeney attacks to move closer to 2025 title
Supercars Adelaide: Brodie Kostecki wins incident-filled Friday race
NASCAR driver and wildcard Austin Cindric kept his nose clean, finishing 21st after starting from the same spot – one spot ahead of his Tickford Racing Ford teammate for the weekend, Cam Waters.
In the final score, Mostert won the title with 5316 points, ahead of Brown with 5244, Feeney with 5242 and Allen with 5223.
Adelaide Supercars – Race 3 Results
To read more articles on Motorsport.com visit our website.
