By Andrew Clarke
Date posted: 2 August 2026
Matt Payne won the 200km Perth Super440 finale at Wanneroo Raceway on Sunday, holding off Broc Feeney by around half a second with a left rear tyre barely attached to the wheel.
Payne started third and beat pole-sitter Feeney with an undercut at the second round of pitstops, then made the position stick through contact between the pair at Turns 2 and 3 with 30 laps of the 80 lap race remaining.
Grove Racing had already shown its hand earlier in the race by running Payne long in the first stint. When he closed back onto the leader, the team brought him in immediately. Feeney followed a lap later to cover, and Payne emerged in front.
Feeney did not accept it quietly. The two Mustangs made repeated contact through the opening sequence of corners as Payne refused to yield, and it was the Grove driver who came out with the lead.
Tyre damage nearly costs Payne the win
The contact left its mark. Payne began reporting a vibration from the left rear, and images from the closing laps showed the tyre barely holding on to the wheel.
The gap stabilised at around 0.5s for the final stint as Payne worked to keep the car pointed straight, with Feeney unable to find a way through despite pressuring him to the flag.
Anton De Pasquale was on course for third after Team 18 released him ahead of Cam Waters in the pitstop cycle, in one of the better strategy calls of the afternoon.
Allen charges from 23rd to fifth
The recovery drive of the race belonged to Kai Allen, who started 23rd after a power steering failure ended his qualifying early.
Grove ran him longest of anyone, keeping him out until lap 35 to build a tyre advantage for the second half of the race. Allen used it to work through the field to fifth, gaining 18 positions and setting the fastest lap of the race along the way.
Jayden Ojeda was the other big improver, gaining 12 places to run eighth after jumping David Reynolds in the pitlane.
Penalties and pitstop problems
Will Brown never got his recovery started. The Triple Eight driver climbed from 19th to 16th on the opening lap, but was handed a 15s penalty for his role in putting Rylan Gray off the road at the exit of Turn 6 on Lap 1. He served it at his first compulsory stop and finished 19th.
Brown and Allen also made door contact through Turn 2 in the early laps, sending Allen across the grass.
Zach Bates collected a 15s penalty of his own for contact that moved Macauley Jones aside for 17th.
Brodie Kostecki’s afternoon unravelled in the pitlane. Dick Johnson Racing did not get enough fuel into the car at his first stop, forcing a three stop race. His second stop was slow, and the third visit dropped him to 16th, despite the car having the pace to set fastest laps.
Ryan Wood did not take the start properly, called into the pitlane at the end of the formation lap with the car not running as it should. Walkinshaw TWG worked to return him to the circuit to salvage points.
Incident filled opening stint
The early laps produced plenty of contact. Chaz Mostert gained five positions in the opening 12 laps to run sixth, and was involved in a moment at pit exit that sent Aaron Cameron across the grass through Turn 2.
Jack Le Brocq toured the sand at Turn 7 after a braking duel with James Golding, while Jobe Stewart survived a sideways moment at Turn 5.
Feeney had led the opening stint after holding Waters through Turn 1 at the start, and led by 0.3s at lap 5 with Payne third. Payne passed Waters for second at the final corner shortly after and set about the leader.
The win completed a weekend of two victories and three pole positions for Payne, and a Ford sweep of all three races at Wanneroo.
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