Sports · Motorsport · 8 hrs ago
Matt Payne wins at Sandown to strengthen Supercars title bid
Matt Payne won Sunday’s Supercars race at Sandown Park in Melbourne by 0.7 seconds, holding off Anton De Pasquale in the closing laps.
Payne started on pole in a Ford Mustang and led from the first corner to take his sixth win of the season.
The victory strengthened Payne’s points lead as the championship moves toward its finals.
Under Supercars’ finals system, only four drivers can advance, and De Pasquale needed to win to keep his chance alive.
De Pasquale’s second place did not qualify him, while Brodie Kostecki, Payne, Broc Feeney and Chaz Mostert made the cut for Adelaide.
Cooper Murray finished third for his first career podium, while Will Brown’s title hopes ended after he started 19th.
The four finalists move on to Adelaide to continue the championship fight.
Matt Payne won the Sandown Supercars race in Melbourne by 0.7 seconds after holding off Anton De Pasquale over the final lap.
The victory was Payne’s sixth of the season and strengthened his points lead.
De Pasquale finished second, while Cooper Murray took third for his first career top-three result.
Broc Feeney finished fourth and secured a place among the four finalists, while De Pasquale needed a win to qualify.
The reports differ on whether Payne’s Ford Mustang was entered by Kelly Racing or Grove Racing.
- Who
- Matt Payne won, ahead of Anton De Pasquale and Cooper Murray.
- What
- Payne won the Supercars race by 0.7 seconds. The victory was his sixth of the season.
- When
- Sunday, 8 November 2026.
- Where
- Sandown Park in Melbourne, Australia.
- Why
- Payne held off De Pasquale to take the win, strengthening his points lead and title bid.
Matt Payne
Anton De Pasquale
Race outcome
Matt Payne
Payne held on to win by 0.7 seconds.
Anton De Pasquale
De Pasquale finished second after closing the gap in the final laps.
Race approach
Matt Payne
Payne said he managed the traffic and had enough to get to the finish.
Anton De Pasquale
De Pasquale said he gave it everything and tried to catch Payne, but Payne had a better start and tyre degradation was less than he had hoped.
Brodie Kostecki won, a result that effectively narrowed the drivers able to advance under the Finals system.
Payne started from pole and beat De Pasquale to the first corner at Sandown Park.
Payne held off De Pasquale over the final laps to win by 0.7 seconds.
- Race margin
- 0.7 seconds
- Payne’s season wins
- Six
- Race venue
- Sandown Park, Melbourne
- Second place
- Anton De Pasquale
- Third place
- Cooper Murray, his first career top-three result
- Finalists
- Four drivers advance to Adelaide
2 sources
What people are saying
That was so stressful, it couldn’t tell you
I gave it everything, I was trying to hunt him down
Second round with this team and we are on the podium. On to bigger and bigger things.