Matt Payne held off Anton De Pasquale at Sandown in Australia to win Sunday’s Supercars race and qualify for the championship decider in Adelaide. De Pasquale needed victory to advance and was eliminated. Chaz Mostert took the remaining final place, joining Payne, Broc Feeney and Brodie Kostecki in the title fight.
Matt Payne won Sunday’s Supercars race at Sandown in Australia on 8 November, holding off Anton De Pasquale to secure a place in the Adelaide championship final. Payne started from pole and ended a three-month wait for victory. De Pasquale needed to win to advance; finishing second instead left him out of title contention and kept Chaz Mostert in the final group.[1], [2]
Payne had built a lead of about three seconds during the opening stint. De Pasquale lost time behind Thomas Randle later on, before closing again after the final pit stops. With five laps remaining, Payne encountered lapped traffic. His pursuer moved within a second with three laps to go. Payne ran wide at the ninth corner but retained first place, winning by seven tenths of a second.[1]
Payne joined Saturday winner Brodie Kostecki, Broc Feeney and Mostert in the final four. Cooper Murray finished third for his first podium in his fourth start for PremiAir, while Feeney and Mostert placed in the top five. Will Brown climbed from nineteenth to seventh but was eliminated, as was Cam Waters after finishing fifteenth. Kostecki received a drive-through penalty for a starting-procedure breach.[1]
