Title contenders to get no favours from Payne in Adelaide

Will Brown and Broc Feeney will be racing for the Repco Supercars Championship in Adelaide, but Ford rival Matt Payne isn’t set on giving the title contenders an easy ride.

Brown leads Triple Eight Race Engineering teammate Feeney by 180 points, with 300 to win across the two 250km races at the VAILO Adelaide 500.

Reigning Adelaide 500 champion Payne is confident of his chances of back-to-back successes, but believes he and the other 21 drivers are fully aware of what’s going down for the crown.

“It’s hard,” Payne told Fox Sports News of racing around the title contenders.

“Will and Broc are obviously racing for a championship, and it’s actually pretty close at the moment. I feel those guys will be trying to look in the mirror and see where each one is. But for me, it’s all racing as normal.

“I think I need to go out there and try and have the mindset of trying to win both races. If we have the speed, I think that’s possible.

“The competition's tough, and I think everyone’s going to be conscious of the title battle going down.”

The Penrite Racing driver has been strong at street circuits this season, winning in Townsville, taking two podiums at the Grand Prix, and finishing fourth in Surfers Paradise.

Should the #19 Ford roll out with a competitive package in Adelaide, the New Zealander is confident he can get the job done.

“It’s been a very big year for myself and the team,” Payne said.

“It’s been awesome, we’ve had some really good races this year, and also some really tough ones as well.

“Last year was really good for us in Adelaide, the car was really speedy, and just managed to put it all together on Sunday.

“We came out on top, which was great to get a win in my rookie year. Hopefully we can roll out and be as strong this weekend, and try and make something of it.”

Supercars action will commence at the VAILO Adelaide 500 on Thursday November 14. Tickets for the event are on sale now.