Where Payne's winning form has come from
Matt Payne hails race pace turnaround
Payne has finished no lower than fourth in last four races
Only Chaz Mostert scored more points in last two rounds
In the first six rounds, Matt Payne had an average grid position of 8.0, and an average finish position of 9.6.
In the last two rounds, while his qualifying average has dropped to 10.0, his average finish position has vaulted to 3.6 — a net gain of 6.4 positions per race.
After being one of the ’nearly men’ in the opening rounds, the Penrite Racing driver has emerged as one of the leading racers on the grid.
So, where has his latest spike in race-winning form come from?
For Payne, he and his #19 crew have "clicked" with the tyre in the races, which has enabled Penrite Racing to take risks with strategy.
“Our race pace has been really good the last couple of rounds,” Payne told Supercars.com after Sydney.
“We just seem to have sort of clicked with the tyre and we're really making it last if we need to, and we're getting the speed out of it if we need to.
“So, it's really good to sort of have those two options where it really can open up the strategy window for us.
“Obviously the three-stopper at Townsville was very effective, and then our one-stopper [in Sydney] which is a completely different scenario, and our car can still do it.
“It’s very promising. I think the team's been working really hard before Sydney to make sure this weekend we were on top of it. I'm really, really proud of them all.”
Payne started ninth and 10th for the two Townsville races, but armed with supreme race pace, motored through the field to finish fourth and first.
Come Sydney, and Payne spun on his Shootout lap to start the opener from 10th. However, as the Kiwi’s race pace again loomed as the benchmark, Penrite Racing gambled on a one-stopper.
The 21-year-old drove beyond his years to lead until the final laps of the race, before Chaz Mostert —armed with better rubber — went by.
On Sunday, Payne missed the Shootout altogether and started 11th, but again motored through the field — headlined by a stunning double overtake — and took fourth from Anton De Pasquale on the final lap.
All told, in the last two rounds, Payne scored 528 points. Only Mostert (567) scored more, with Cam Waters (522), Thomas Randle (429), championship leader Will Brown (393) and Will Davison (381) behind.
However, while pleased with his race pace, Payne knows he needs to rediscover qualifying form to give himself a better chance at fighting for wins.
“The racing side of things was really good. We came forward in both races, a lot of positions, and the team did a fantastic job with strategy,” he added.
"Myself, I need to work on qualifying. I'm still not maximising it and I'm making too many mistakes, which is making our life harder in the races.
"Even on the Saturday, if I'd finished the lap and started on the front two rows, we would have had a much better chance of winning that race on the right strategy.
“It's just little things like that where we're probably making our lives a bit harder than we should be. But [we’ve got a] bit of time to sort it out between now and the next round."
Payne is fifth in the championship heading to the NED Whisky Tasmania SuperSprint on August 16-18. Tickets for the event are on sale now.
Live coverage can be found on Foxtel, with live streaming available on Kayo. Highlights will be shown on the Seven Network and 7plus. International viewers can follow all the action on Superview.
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