Penrite Racing’s Matt Payne and Garth Tander have won the iconic Repco Bathurst 1000, in one of the wettest and most dramatic editions of The Great Race in the event’s 67 years of history.
With seven safety cars and several retirements on Mount Panorama, there was no shortage of incidents during the 161 laps of the famous racetrack.
The win for Kiwi Payne and 2007 Supercars Champion Tander marks a historic moment for the drivers, etching their names onto the Peter Brock Trophy for the first and sixth time in their respective careers.
Garth Tander joined Larry Perkins and Mark Skaife as the only drivers to win the Repco Bathurst 1000 six times.
Payne, who went into the race second in the overall Repco Supercars Championship, continued his monumental rookie campaign with his fifth win of the season.
“It’s absolutely insane,” Payne said post-race.
“Just on the wet, that race went on forever, we kept getting safety cars, and it kept stalling our race.
For Tander, it was a surreal moment in his storied career – notably his first Bathurst victory aboard a Ford – heaped praise on his co-driver.
The hiccups during the race began from the get-go, with Bryce Fullwood and Brad Vaughan’s day coming unstuck with the #14 Brad Jones Racing Camaro stalling on the grid before it was towed away to the garage. The vehicle briefly returned to the track, but it again came in for repairs a lap later. The pair ultimately sat at the back of the order for the remainder of the race.
Engine issues plagued Matt Stone Racing 50 laps in, with the #10 Bendix Camaro pulling out of the contest after reports of a lost cylinder, while Nick Percat’s co-driver Tim Slade behind the wheel at the time of the retirement. Percat, who announced his retirement from full-time Supercars racing earlier this week, sat 37 points below the Supercars Finals Series cutline prior to the race.
The #25 Walkinshaw Andretti United Mustang was the third retirement from the race, also succumbing to an engine issue on lap 58, with Chaz Mostert pulling to a stop on The Chase due to an approaching safety car restart following Tony D’Alberto’s crash in the #17 Dick Johnson Racing Mustang at Forrest’s Elbow, which brought his and primary driver Will Davison’s weekend to an end.
Mark Winterbottom also pinched up into the wall at Forrest’s Elbow, which put himself and Cam Waters a lap off the pace for most of the race.
A slow driver changeover between defending Bathurst 1000 champions Todd Hazelwood and Brodie Kostecki was a major misstep for the duo, which was then further compounded by Kostecki running into the back of Kai Allen on the Main Straight on lap 99. A drive-through penalty was given to Kostecki and effectively ended any chance of the #38 Dick Johnson Racing pair repeating 2024’s success.
Anton de Pasquale lost control at The Dipper slamming into the wall, bringing an end to the Team 18’s Bathurst 1000 after 105 laps.
Repco Supercars Championship leader Broc Feeney then put the Triple Eight Race Engineering’s #88 into the tyre-wall at Forrest’s Elbow on lap 124, putting one of the race’s top contenders out of action at a critical moment of the session. He would ultimately rejoin the pack and finish in sixth.
The racing resumed with 34 laps to go led by Ryan Wood, but PremiAir Racing’s James Golding wasted no time taking the lead and quickly amassing a multi-second lead before yet another safety car was called upon giving a chance for all front-runners to fit new wet tires.
Another Triple Eight racing incident, this time involving Will Brown, who lost his bonnet and the rear wing with less than 30 laps remaining was also knocked out of contention.
With 22 laps remaining, Wood’s crank sensor failed, adding another dramatic twist to the final chunk of the race, while James Courtney and Jaxon Evans also exited from contention of the race.
With Wood officially ruled out, Cooper Murray then made his move with 21 laps remaining. Three laps later, Golding’s PremiAir teammate Richie Stanaway went into the concrete wall at The Cutting, thus knocking him out of the running, and adding another safety car.
As the race continued to the 151st lap, the Repco Bathurst 1000 turned into a three-car race for the win between Murray, Matt Payne and Golding, separated by one second.
All three found themselves in a drag race down the Conrod Straight with nine laps to go, with Payne coming off the worst, ending up in gravel and rejoining in third.
A major slide from Murray from a push from Golding, which would prove to have an effect on the race result with a five second penalty for the contact, paved the way for Payne to take the lead with just five laps remaining and David Reynolds moving into the top three.
Golding remained in close pursuit of Payne in the remaining two laps, taking the lead out of Hell Corner to commence the last lap and would hold the lead until the end.
However, the aforementioned penalty ensured Payne and Tander the race win and elation for the #100 car Penrite Racing team, despite a hard charging David Reynolds and Lee Holdsworth who would be left content as runners-up.
The 2025 Repco Supercars Championship next heads further north for the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 from 24-26 October.
Teams will then shift focus to the Penrite Oil Sandown 500 from 14-16 November for the Semi-Finals before the campaign concludes with the bp Adelaide Grand Final from 27-30 November, set against the backdrop of one of Australia’s most iconic street circuits.
