Payne felt 'at peace' after Bathurst battles

Matt Payne felt “at peace” in his Bathurst debut after a number of key battle with future rivals.

Payne and Lee Holdsworth finished sixth in Sunday’s Repco Bathurst 1000.

It was a smart dress rehearsal for 20-year-old Payne, who will replace Holdsworth at Penrite Racing in 2023.

Holdsworth cruised into a clear lead through Turn 1, but the field was compressed by the Safety Car immediately.

The 2021 Bathurst winner handed over to Payne, who kept the car in the top three.

The #10 dropped down the order after the Tim Blanchard Safety Car, and Payne was surrounded by main drivers.

Notably, he allowed Mostert safe passage through at The Cutting behind the controversial James Moffat/Brodie Kostecki clash.

From there, Payne ran his own race and later handed back to Holdsworth, who crossed the line sixth.

It was a solid result after the #26 was taken out in the dramatic Chase incident.

“The last few laps of my second stint was when I started to feel at peace,” Payne told Supercars.com.

“Lee did a great job at the start, and I thought we could be on for something.

“Reality set in when I took that restart in P2, that was pretty hard. I got boxed a bit.

“I had to keep my cool and not get caught up in too much.

“I managed that and kept it straight, and got it back to Lee, which was the priority.”

Payne, 19 years Holdsworth’s junior, showed all the smarts required to make it work in the main game.

The Groves have entrusted Payne with a full-time drive in 2023 despite just a handful of seasons in tin tops.

Payne has been a title contender in Super2 this year, and won his first race and round in Perth.

However, he was surprised by how quickly he felt calm despite being in the hot seat at Mount Panorama.

It came in front of friends and family, who made the trip across from New Zealand.

“In that second stint, I got really comfortable in the car,” he said.

"The crew then told me I had a few laps left, which was nice.

Holdsworth led the early laps

“Towards the end I was driving around on my own, I was chilling doing consistent laps.

“It was peaceful when I found my groove.

“Dad has been there pretty much my whole career. He was pretty proud.

“It gives me quite a bit of confidence heading into next year.

“I had to show I could be consistent, not fall off a cliff, and keep it straight.

“That’s what’s required at this level, and I am happy to prove I could do it."

Payne is 132 points behind Super2 series leader Declan Fraser heading to the Adelaide finale.

The 2022 Supercars season will continue at the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 on October 28-30.