Supercars rookie eyes top-10 spot for season
The penultimate round of the Supercars championship is on the Gold Coast this weekend, and while most fan interest will be on the race for the title, with four drivers still in contention, Kiwi Supercars rookie Matthew Payne is quietly happy about his progress this year.
“We started [the season] strong and our car speed early on was pretty exceptional compared to the other teams,” he told the Weekend Herald.
“In the middle of the season, we sort of slacked off a little and had a few bad rounds. It’s easy to throw blame around but we had a few issues with the car that we thought were better but probably weren’t in hindsight.
“We rectified those after a few test days and had three really strong rounds in the back end of the year.”
Payne sits 16th overall despite the mid-season slump and good rounds this weekend and at Adelaide could see the Penrite Racing pilot challenge for a top 10 finish for the year.
“The way it looks in the championship, it’s unfortunate how far down we are. I’m not too worried about that, as we all know where our potential is going and how good the next couple of years are going to look.
“It’s really promising and we’ll soon be racing up the front with the big guys. It’s a relief to get our car speed a little quicker but it’s been hard,” said Payne.
Some pundits have suggested the 2023 success of younger drivers such as Brodie Kostecki, Will Brown, Broc Feeney and Payne, may be down to the introduction of the new Gen3 car but the 21-year-old New Zealander isn’t so sure.
“It’s true the younger drivers are coming through and [championship leader] Kostecki has put on a good show this year. It’s also good to see Broc and Will also going well, along with a few others.
“There’s nothing to take away from the older guys but the younger drivers have adapted to the new car a little bit better on some occasions. It’s good to see from my perspective, as a lot of motorsports are trending that way [younger drivers excelling].
“I had a lot of people tell me at the end of last year that you’ll adapt quicker to the new car as you have no point of reference. However, how I see it is that we’re all trying to be the best driver we can and there’s no reason why any driver in the field can adapt better than anyone else, as long as they believe in themselves. We’re all professionals.”
The last Supercars hit-out was the iconic Bathurst 1000, where Payne and co-driver Kevin Estre finished a creditable 11th. This weekend, the track couldn’t be more different — it’s one of the most idiosyncratic on the race calendar.
As with most street tracks that are like concrete chutes, the Gold Coast circuit has kerbs, chicanes, heavy braking and wall-grinding to keep the drivers focused.
Despite all the challenges of a street circuit compared with a racetrack, Payne and his fellow drivers all seem to like racing on them.
“I’ve never been here before, so it’s going to be pretty tough. I’ve heard a lot about this track and have been watching racing on it for a few years. It’s tough; the walls are close and there are big kerbs and we all love the street tracks. It provides pretty good entertainment and I’m looking forward to getting out onto the track. It’s going to be exciting.”