The Penrite Ford driver held off a late-race charge from the in-form Feeney, whose relentless pursuit in the closing laps nearly paid off after carving his way through the field with qualifying-style lap times.
“That was a pretty cool race, man,” Payne said post-race. “We’ve struggled here before, so to grab a win like this is pretty special. The car hung onto its tyres really well — we went with four greens and that definitely helped. I knew once I exited the hairpin on the final lap, I could defend it. Broc was coming fast, but we just held on.”
Feeney extended his lead in the championship despite finishing second, while his teammate Will Brown rounded out the podium in third. Brown initially looked a likely winner before being shuffled down the order early and recovering via alternate strategy.
Race Summary: Golding Leads Early, Feeney Charges Late
The early stages saw Jimmy Golding light up the track with a stellar launch from P4, taking the lead at Turn 2 ahead of Brown, Waters, and Feeney. Behind the front-runners, chaos unfolded — Cooper Murray and Kai Allen tangled, forcing Anton De Pasquale off the road and damaging several cars. Murray would later be handed a 15-second penalty.
Golding built a commanding 1.9s lead by Lap 6, with Brown, Waters and Feeney scrapping for second. Feeney passed Waters at the hairpin on Lap 12 and began to reel in the PremiAir Camaro. By Lap 14, Golding’s lead was down to three seconds.
Further back, a stack-up at the hairpin saw Le Brocq spun around after contact between Courtney, Mostert, and Davison. Mostert and Declan Fraser would both cop 15-second penalties for separate incidents.
As the pit window opened, Brown and other midfield runners made early stops. When Feeney and Golding pitted together under a Lap 30 Safety Car, Feeney emerged ahead thanks to a cleaner stop.
Once the field was released on Lap 34, Feeney led from Golding, with Payne — having already completed both stops — rising into contention as others still had to pit. Feeney opened a gap, but Payne, running clean air and efficient pace, assumed the net lead when all pit strategies played out.
Final Laps: Feeney Hunts, Payne Defends
Feeney began a relentless charge from 13.7s behind, setting the fastest lap on Lap 61 and carving through the field. He bumped past Randle and Reynolds, then gained more ground when teammate Brown moved aside with seven laps to go.
With five laps remaining, Feeney was just over four seconds behind Payne. The gap closed rapidly, with the Triple Eight Camaro looming large in the mirrors of the Penrite Mustang.
On the final lap, Payne executed a near-flawless defence, using track position and braking zones to keep Feeney at bay. As they dragged to the line, Payne held on by a nose — just 0.05s — in one of the closest finishes of the season.
Feeney collected fastest lap bonus points and now leads the championship. Despite the narrow defeat, he was satisfied with the team’s direction: “The car was insane today. We probably could’ve won it with a few more laps, but full credit to Matt. He put the car in all the right spots.”
BJR’s Mixed Bag: Heimgartner Stars, Fullwood Struggles
Brad Jones Racing had a rollercoaster Sunday, with standout performances and some misfortune scattered across the four entries.
Andre Heimgartner surged from 19th to finish eighth, the Kiwi putting in a polished drive aided by a slick pit stop from the R&J Batteries crew. “We had good pace, and I feel like we got some of our mojo back,” Heimgartner said.
Jaxon Evans impressed again, qualifying seventh and running strongly before an unfortunately timed Lap 28 pit stop coincided with the Safety Car. He dropped out of top ten contention but recovered well to finish just outside the ten.
Macauley Jones dodged first-lap carnage and worked his way through the pack to finish 13th in a gritty drive.
Bryce Fullwood’s birthday went from bad to worse — tangled in the early chaos, served two penalties, and suffered a puncture after contact with Brodie Kostecki, which helped trigger the Safety Car. He limped home in 20th.
PremiAir Racing Threatens Podium, Scores Double Top Five
PremiAir Racing had every chance to claim their first win of 2025, with Jimmy Golding leading for 29 laps after a sensational start. However, he was undercut in the pits by Feeney and later lost ground after being delayed by a lapped car.
Golding fought back to finish fourth, with teammate Richie Stanaway celebrating his 100th Supercars start in style by climbing from P14 to P5 by the flag. Both drivers had made it into the Top Ten Shootout earlier in the day, and the team continues to build form after a slow start to the season.
“It’s great to see both cars in the top five,” said Competition Director Ludo Lacroix. “Jimmy had a real shot, but we just didn’t nail the strategy. Still, a very solid result.”
Stanaway echoed the sentiment: “It’s my best result yet with the team, and hopefully we can build on this. The car felt great today.”
Team 18: Reynolds Delivers, De Pasquale Caught in Chaos
David Reynolds scored his best result of the year with a calm, controlled drive to sixth after starting 12th. Two well-timed stops and improved tyre balance played into his hands.
Anton De Pasquale showed strong one-lap speed, qualifying for the shootout and starting tenth. But his race unraveled almost instantly after being turned by Cooper Murray at Turn 1. Damage forced him to the garage for repairs, and he eventually finished 23rd.
Driver Reactions: Post-Race Comments
Matt Payne (#19 Penrite Racing)
“We’ve worked hard for this. To win from 11th, it’s just unreal. We nailed the strategy and had the pace to bring it home. I’ve never had a finish like that.”
Broc Feeney (#88 Red Bull Ampol Racing)
“I gave it everything. Massive shoutout to the crew — this car was a rocket. We’ll take the points and keep the pressure on heading to Perth.”
Will Brown (#1 Red Bull Ampol Racing)
“Good result in the end with P3. Bit of a messy start and I had to reset, but we scored strong points and kept ourselves right in the fight.”
Jimmy Golding (#31 PremiAir Racing)
“Awesome start — nearly had the perfect race. A few small things didn’t go our way, but we’re knocking on the door.”
Richie Stanaway (#62 PremiAir Racing)
“Nice way to cap off the weekend. Best result with the team and good momentum heading into the next round.”
Andre Heimgartner (#8 R&J Batteries Camaro)
“Felt like we finally had the pace to race hard. We moved forward, had some good battles, and I’m happy to leave with a result.”
Jaxon Evans (#12 SCT Motorsport)
“Frustrating to have the Safety Car throw our strategy out, but we showed strong pace all weekend. We’ll bounce back in Perth.”
Bryce Fullwood (#14 Shure Racing Camaro)
“Birthday to forget. Got caught up in incidents and couldn’t show the car’s true pace. The speed is there though — just need a clean run.”
Championship Standings Update
Broc Feeney leaves Tasmania atop the leaderboard, having extended his margin over teammate Will Brown. Matt Payne jumps to third ahead of Cam Waters, while Fullwood and Golding climb further into the top ten.
The 2025 Repco Supercars Championship now heads west for the Bosch Power Tools Perth Super 440 on June 6–8. With momentum swinging and team strategies evolving, the championship is heating up fast.
Tickets for Perth are on sale now.
