Waters takes cheeky swipe at Payne
Cam Waters takes cheeky swipe at Matt Payne over Darwin battle
Payne labelled Waters pit exit move as "dangerous" in Race 18
Payne second, Waters third in championship heading to Townsville
Cam Waters has taken a cheeky swipe at Matt Payne over their hairy Darwin run-in, while praising his Ford rival for racing fairly amid the tension.
The Waters/Payne rivalry has emerged as one of the best in Supercars, with a series of clashes in Darwin adding to their short yet sweet story that kicked off at the 2024 Australian Grand Prix.
The tension threatened to boil over in Darwin when Payne criticised Waters for a “dangerous” move exiting pit lane that attracted the ire of officials.
Both drivers traded opinions in the media, yet delivered strong results across the weekend to boost their respective championship bids.
The story continues at this weekend’s NTI Townsville 500, with Waters and Payne both winners at Reid Park.
The drama of Darwin was a talking point on Seven’s Supercars Preview Show, with Tickford Racing star Waters — while admitting his move was “a little bit rude” — teasing that Payne was "sooking a little bit on the radio."
“It was cool coming out of the pits, and obviously trying to warm the tyres a little bit,” Waters said.
"I thought I'd kind of got to the left side enough to make sure he wasn't gonna go there. But he thought there was a bit of room there and, yeah, just closed the door on him.
"It was probably a little bit rude from me, but he should have expected that from me. Had some really cool battles across the weekend, and I think he was sooking a little bit on the radio, but it wasn't that bad.”
On the panel, 2007 Supercars champion Garth Tander asked Waters if he would have remonstrated over radio if the roles were reversed.
Waters replied: "Nah, I'd be like, 'That's fair game’. Obviously, [Tander], if you were in that car, you'd be saying the same thing.”
The Monster Energy Mustang driver did acknowledge Payne for keeping it clean after that, adding: “It's just hard racing, right? It's what everyone wants to watch.
“It's cool to be able to have a really hard battle like that and then not get or escorted off the road or hit.
"So, hats off to Matt for, for not taking me out at the same time.”
Track action in Townsville commences on Friday. Tickets for the event are on sale now.
