Penrite Racing 2025 season review: The new challenger to Triple Eight's throne?
As 2025 winds down, Supercars.com is looking over all 11 teams and their performances in this year's Repco Supercars Championship, continuing with Penrite Racing.
There is a new challenger at the top end of town in Supercars. They are Penrite Racing.
Arguably one of the biggest surprises of the season, the Grove Racing squad emerged as the closest competition to the dominant Red Bull Ampol Racing Team throughout the year.
In particular, Matt Payne was superb, and was Broc Feeney's closest rival throughout the Sprint Cup, often going toe-to-toe with the Red Bull Camaro.
Along the way, Penrite and Payne racked up plenty of silverware, including the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy, the Ryco Enduro Cup, and the Peter Brock Trophy.
That Bathurst win alongside Garth Tander will go down as one of the all-time great wins, coming from 18th on the grid in a day where Mount Panorama threw everything it could at the field.
It was a doubly momentous day for the team, as rookie Kai Allen also secured a berth in the Finals Series, with a determined drive in the face of adversity and kangaroos.
Allen's season started off with a rough and tumble introduction to the main game, however once he secured his first two podiums in Darwin, his trajectory has shot through the roof.
In fact, such was Allen's progression, that when Matt Payne stumbled at Sandown in the Semi Final, Allen was there to pick up the pieces, and secure a stunning Grand Final berth in his rookie year.
Comfortably finishing second in the teams' standings, and locking down top five finishes for both drivers, this was truly a coming of age season for Penrite Racing.
Penrite Racing: 2025 season results and head-to-heads
Drivers' finish: Kai Allen 4th, Matt Payne 5th
Teams' finish: 2nd
Best result: 1st (Matt Payne, Taupō 2x, Tasmania, Bathurst w. Garth Tander, Adelaide)
Qualifying head-to-head: Matt Payne 25, Kai Allen 9
Race head-to-head: Matt Payne 24, Kai Allen 9
What's next in 2026?
With Triple Eight now moving to Ford, Penrite Racing now find themselves in the same equipment as the 13-time teams' champions.
That means it's now a straight fight between the pair, and it could very well be for the 2026 teams' championship, however they will do it without their off-track spearhead.
Having led the operation as Team Principal since becoming the first signing of the Grove family's tenure in 2022, David Cauchi moved on at the end of the year, announcing his departure after Bathurst.
Garth Tander will also be out of a co-drive having announced his retirement in the wake of Bathurst, though Will Davison is a fine replacement, and with fellow addition Tim Slade completes an excellent enduro roster.
If the Kiwi keeps on stepping up as he seems to do every year, there would be no surprise if come the end of the season, Matt Payne was the 2026 Supercars Champion.
However, that's not to say Allen won't be one to watch either. His Finals Series was superb, keeping Payne honest in both head-to-head match-ups, and if he can keep that momentum rolling into the new year, he'll be a threat.
However, Allen will have a new engineer, and a high-profile one in ex-Ferrari Formula One performance engineer Riccardo Corte.
What ideas the Italian can bring to Penrite Racing could potentially take them to the next level, and having the steady hand of Alistair McVean overseeing the engineering side of things will also be a huge help.
If Corte can hit the ground running with the momentum both Payne and Allen have picked up, Penrite Racing could be the team to beat in 2026.
The views in this article do not necessarily express the opinions of Supercars, teams or drivers.
