Rookie Payne on provisional pole for Supercars finale

Joanna Guelas | November 26, 2023

Rookie Matthew Payne has secured provisional pole for the second of the two Supercars races at the Adelaide season finale.

Payne’s 1:19.098 lap on Sunday morning made him fastest going into the top-10 shootout ahead of Saturday’s race winner Cam Waters and runner-up David Reynolds, redeeming himself after falling short in Saturday’s shootout.

Newly- minted 2023 series champion Brodie Kostecki (Erebus) still has a chance to secure pole for the 250km closing race after finishing seventh but teammate Will Brown and Triple Eight’s Shane van Gisbergen missed out after coming in 11th and 15th respectively.

The 21-year-old Payne was fastest in the two sectors in Saturday’s top-10 shootout before misjudging his braking at the turn-nine hairpin, resulting in a finish at the bottom of the order.

“Pretty stoked for the whole team. It’s a really good result,” Payne said after Sunday’s effort.

“Yesterday was pretty scrappy from my side.

“I made a few mistakes in that top 10 shootout, probably asking a little more than what I should’ve.

“We’re setting ourselves up for a pretty good day today.”

Qualifying was momentarily halted after rookie Cam Hill – on his 27th birthday – crashed into the concrete boundary just seven minutes into the session.

The Matt Stone Racing driver hit the inside guard rail at turn eight, spinning out of control before colliding into the opposing wall further down the track.

The impact of Hill’s collision was enough to dislodge the concrete barrier resulting in the car’s rear wing flying off.

The grid will be decided by the top 10 shootout at 12.05pm (ACDT) before the last race of the season begins at 2.45pm (ACDT).

RACE 28 QUALIFYING RESULTS:

1. Matthew Payne (Penrite Racing) 1:19.098

2. Cam Waters (Tickford Racing) +0.229

3. David Reynolds (Penrite Racing) +0.308

4. Broc Feeney (Triple Eight Race Engineering) +0.311

5. Thomas Randle (Tickford Racing) +0.320

6. Chaz Mostert (Walkinshaw Andretti United) +0.367

7. Brodie Kostecki (Erebus Motorsport) +0.464

8. Andre Heimgartner (Brad Jones Racing) +0.534

9. Todd Hazelwood (Blanchard Racing Team) +0.540