Brown puts championship target on Payne's back

Will Brown is setting sights on overhauling Matt Payne in the championship at Bathurst ahead of The Finals.

Brown trails Payne by 30 points heading to the Repco Bathurst 1000, with Repco Sprint Cup winner Broc Feeney 158 points clear in the lead.

With Feeney 19th at The Bend, Payne and Brown are both gunning for the Ryco Enduro Cup and the bonus points that come with it.

Brown trailed third-placed Payne at the AirTouch 500 at The Bend, with Brodie Kostecki and Cam Waters leading the Enduro Cup points heading to the Mountain.

Feeney has 25 bonus points locked away for winning the Sprint Cup, and should Payne or Brown win the Enduro Cup, the championship picture will have extra spice for the Gold Coast Elimination Final.

Speaking on The Formation Lap, reigning champion Brown admitted there are nerves over what’s to come, but the immediate goal is clear: climb over Payne.

"I’d love to beat Matt Payne at Bathurst and come second in this part of the championship,” said Brown, who is recovering from a rolled ankle.

“Heading into Gold Coast, it resets. Really, it’s about not having a DNF at Gold Coast, not making a mistake, getting through to Sandown.

“We’re always quite competitive at Sandown, gotta get through to there and have a really good round there.

"You don’t know. You could be out at Gold Coast, you could make it all the way through. Small mistakes, like that refuelling issue, could hurt people.

“I’m quite excited by it, I’m also nervous, but it’s going to be cool.”

Co-drivers will play a major role in where Payne, Brown and their rivals end up in the points come Sunday afternoon.

Scott Pye put in an impressive stint at The Bend, charging through the field before handing over to Brown. The net result was a run from 16th to fourth.

Five-time Bathurst winner Garth Tander, was smarting after a tough first stint, before pressing on and putting Payne in position for a run at third, which the Kiwi delivered.

Payne believes Tander will be a massive boost for his chances in Bathurst, telling Supercars.com: "Obviously knowing him for a while now, and working really closely with him and in my first couple of years as a main driver, was really good.

"He's obviously got a lot of knowledge and is very smart. On track, he doesn't take any shit. It’s good to have someone like that.

“His expectation level of his own performance is very high as well, which makes a lot of the difference. His car speed is pretty good. I think he's gonna be strong when he gets there.

“He knows that place very well, he’s probably one of the best in the field. Not only that, he knows how to deal with the weekend.

"A massive part of the whole race is just dealing with the whole week ahead. You need to manage that and make sure you still have good energy in the tank ready for the race.”

Track action at Mount Panorama commences on Thursday.