Payne happy with NZ takeaways
Despite starting on pole and missing out on the podium, Matt Payne still believed there were plenty of positives to take from a memorable maiden home race at Taupo.
After a tough Saturday where Payne spun early and came home 14th, he took a memorable pole position on Sunday morning.
The Kiwi then led away and controlled the first 12 laps until Broc Feeney blazed past.
It appeared Payne struggled to sustain the tyre life on the #19 as Anton De Pasquale and Will Brown also got by before the first stops.
In the end the Kiwi managed to secure a solid fourth place as the Triple Eight Camaros were just too fast.
Reflecting on the journey, Payne felt he just ‘did not have the car underneath’ to fight for victory, but believed there were still plenty of positives to walk away from Taupo.
The #19 Penrite Racing Mustang had impressive one-lap pace, while teammate Richie Stanaway made strong ground in both races to ensure the team stayed second in the standings.
“It is not too bad of a result,” Payne said.
“It is not so good when you start from pole, but I’ll take P4 which is good points.
“We probably didn’t quite have the car today and struggled with the tyre life.
“We will get there and will not give up at all, we will keep pushing hard and persevering.
“It is very positive to have the qualifying speed, but this weekend really separated the cars with really good and poor tyre life.
“Tough day but still good points.”
Payne hopes to keep on pushing at the Perth SuperSprint on May 17-19.
Image: Peter Norton EPIC Sports Photography
Taupo Super400 schedule (all times AEST)
Friday, April 19
Practice: 1: C. Mostert 1:26.4937 2: M. Payne +0.0318 3: W. Davison +0.0508
Saturday, April 20
Qualifying Race 7: 1: M. Payne 1:27.9684 2: A. De Pasquale +0.0940 3: C. Mostert +0.1669
Top 10 Shootout: 1: C. Waters 1:34.7415 2: W. Brown +0.5011 3: A. Heimgartner +0.5374
Race 7 (60 laps): 1: A. Heimgartner 2: W. Davison +1.1012 3: A. De Pasquale +2.5641
Sunday, April 21
Qualifying Race 8: 1: A. De Pasquale 2: C. Mostert +0.0272 3: W. Brown +0.0292
Top 10 Shootout: 1: M. Payne 1:26.8173 2: B. Feeney +0.0126 3: B. Kostecki +0.0306
Race 8 (60 laps): 1: W. Brown 2: B. Feeney +3.3585 3: A. De Pasquale +14.2612
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