The departure of Shane van Gisbergen and a tight championship battle swinging the way of Brodie Kostecki were the talking points entering the final round of the Supercars season in Adelaide, but at the chequered flag, it was Kiwi rookie Matt Payne who stood in the spotlight.
The 21-year-old had upstaged everyone, taking a sensational victory for what’s expected to be the first of many over a promising career ahead.
Payne had threatened to break his podium drought for over half of the season, finding form that equalled, or bettered, the championship contenders despite the well-documented parity concerns of the Ford contingent.
He had hinted at his potential through his 2022 Super2 campaign, where he finished third with six podiums in 12 races, including taking two wins, and finished sixth in the Bathurst 1000 with Lee Holdsworth.
Promoting the Kiwi to Supercars was a no-brainer for Grove Racing, and Payne was quickly up to speed in Round 1, finishing 12th in Race 1 in Newcastle and 14th in Race 2.
His first top-ten finishes came in Round 3 at the Perth Supersprint, qualifying fifth for the opener, finishing sixth, and going eighth quickest in Qualifying 2 before coming home ninth.
While results in the following Tasmanian SuperSprint and Darwin Triple Crown didn’t replicate this performance, it was the opener of the Townsville 500 where Payne made an impact, qualifying second fastest and competing in his maiden Top 10 Shootout on his way to seventh on the grid.
Impressive qualifying results at The Bend, including putting his Mustang third on the grid in Race 2 and fifth in Race 3, set him up for further top-ten results. In the season’s first enduro, at Sandown, he progressed to the Top 10 Shootout, qualifying seventh before finishing sixth alongside Kevin Estre.
He was again in the Top 10 Shootout at Bathurst and started eighth in the Great Race, finishing 11th after Estre found trouble early in proceedings.
With parity adjustments seeing the blue oval brigade emerge towards the front of the field in the Gold Coast 500, Payne immediately got to work and made a statement by qualifying second fastest for the Top 10 Shootout for the opener. He earned his first front row start and came home in ninth before narrowly missing the podium in Race 2 in fourth, following another impressive qualifying result that saw him jump from ninth to third in the Shootout.
Entering the season’s final round in Adelaide, it was clear Payne’s maiden podium was a matter of when, not if.
A top 10 qualifying performance in the campaign’s penultimate race was compromised by a Lap 1 incident that saw him lose laps on the field, but all was soon to be forgiven in the finale.
Once again, an impressive qualifying session set the scene for what would turn out to be a history-making result, with Payne sensationally going fastest, putting three-tenths on the field in the timed run and falling just 0.03 seconds short of pole from newly-crowned champion Brodie Kostecki in the Shootout.
A great start saw him pull clear into the opening chicane, and an incredible drive combined with a superb strategy saw the Kiwi rookie rarely challenged to come home for a deserved 8.5-second victory.
The event brought the end of van Gisbergen’s time in the sport, but Kiwi fans were given hope of another New Zealand star in the making following the event. “One Kiwi star departs, while another arrives,” read the headlines.
A big 2024 awaits Payne at Grove Racing, whose compatriot Richie Stanaway will join an all-Kiwi lineup at the outfit for a tilt at overall honours.
With the form shown over the second half of the 2023 season, there’s no saying where Payne’s promising career could end up.
The ‘Best of 2023’ series will revisit ten of Velocity News’s most viewed storylines from an incredible year of Kiwis competing abroad.
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