Tickford, Grove bosses weigh in on costly Waters/Payne clash
Ford team bosses defend Cam Waters, Matt Payne over costly clash
Waters and Payne eliminated from Finals following dramatic Sandown clash
Clash promoted Payne's teammate Kai Allen into Grand Final position
Tickford Racing and Penrite Racing bosses have both defended their star drivers over the clash that ended their Finals campaigns.
Ford spearheads Cam Waters and Matt Payne were eliminated from the 2025 Repco Supercars Finals Series following a dramatic clash in the Penrite Oil Sandown 500 finale.
With 31 laps to go, Payne — who at that stage comfortably held a Grand Final berth — attacked Waters into Turn 1, sending both Mustangs wide.
At that time, Waters was carrying a five-second penalty over an earlier incident with Will Brown. Already in an elimination position, Waters was desperate to make up ground.
As Payne defended into Turn 4, Waters responded with a vigorous attack, and contact proved costly: Waters picked up a right rear puncture and broken shock absorber, while Payne was nullified by bent steering.
Both cars were forced into the garage and out of contention, propelling Payne’s rookie teammate Kai Allen into a Grand Final position.
Speaking post-race, Payne hit out at the "rude" clashes, while Waters was surprised by his rival's desperation. Red Bull Ampol Racing Team Manager Mark Dutton, meanwhile, declared that he wasn't surprised by the clash.
Tickford Team Manager Matt Roberts and Penrite Racing Team Principal David Cauchi also spoke on Supercars’ Cool Down Lap presented by Moza Racing podcast post-race, and both suggested Payne could have played it safe.
“It was elbows out, right from the get go. You could see Matt coming up on him at a great rate of knots,” Roberts said.
“A couple of taps in the rear bar and I think it was game on at that point. I think maybe Matt — I’d have to go back and look at it. I haven't looked at it closely yet — got into the back of Cam, and Cam's not gonna have any of that.
“He got his elbows back out in into [Turn] 4 and obviously damaged both cars. It’s unfortunate for Matt to be out of The Finals that way.
“If they reflect back on that, they probably didn't have to do anything. They just had to sit there, right? We don't want to see anyone go down like that, especially a fellow Ford.”
Cauchi added: “Tough day for Matt. I'm sure that's not exactly how he wanted to bow out.
“But that's motor racing. Everyone was going to be racing hard out there and that's exactly what we saw. So, disappointing for Matt.
“I think the move was on. He had him in the braking… just then ended up going a little bit wide there. In hindsight, you'd say that we should have just sat there and sat behind him, but it's history now.”
Roberts maintained that Tickford was aggrieved by the penalty for Waters, who was cited over gaining an unfair advantage following alleged contact with Brown. However, like Waters, Roberts was keen to move on.
“Unfortunate for Cam not to make it through also. Had the elbows out with Brown early on,” Roberts continued.
“We thought that that penalty was pretty harsh, we didn't agree with that, but obviously everyone was pretty trigger happy on the penalty side of things. But again, we'll cop that one on the chin and move on.”
Cauchi, meanwhile, still had reason to smile with Allen’s Grand Final qualification, insisting the fight is still on for Penrite Racing.
“For the team to get Kai through, he's just been getting better and better, and he deserves to be in that final four,” Cauchi added.
“We're going to go to Adelaide and we're going to fight hard.”
Allen will join, Broc Feeney, Chaz Mostert, and Will Brown in fighting for the 2025 Repco Supercars Championship at the bp Adelaide Grand Final from November 27-30. Tickets are on sale now.
