Sinking feeling for Matt Payne as victory slips in Perth
Broc Feeney pounced on points leader to win second Perth race
Payne takes 107 point lead into Sunday in Perth
Matt Payne has lamented a tangle with traffic that ultimately cost him the race lead — and win — to Broc Feeney.
Feeney turned the tables on the championship leader with victory in Saturday's second Bosch Power Tools Perth Super 440 race, passing Payne after the stops.
Payne rejoined ahead of Feeney after his compulsory stop, but Feeney closed the margin. The two Fords chewed through traffic and caught Aaron Cameron, who came in for his stop at a pit entry that was an action point on Friday.
Payne baulked behind Cameron, opening the door to Feeney to attack down pit straight. Feeney completed the move through Turn 1, and raced away to a 31st career victory.
Throughout the race, once having lost the lead, Payne remonstrated to engineer Jack Bell: “My car has got so much f***ing push.”
Later, Payne said: “If I sit behind him like that, I’m just gonna burn the fronts off."
Bell replied: “Matty, you have the superior car, you can do this, we are well and truly in it.”
Payne retorted: “Jack, I know, but I’m burning the fronts off, and it’s not going to be a great car at the end, okay?”
Feeney was asked to have a “tiny” bit of fuel save, but completed victory by 1.5833s as Payne dropped away.
When asked in PIRTEK Victory Lane if he expected Feeney to pounce, Payne replied: "Oh, absolutely. I would've done the same thing if I was in his position.
"It just was a shame. I think we just got caught out with lapped traffic at absolutely the wrong time. I don't really think there was anything I could've done.
"If I passed that car up the inside, he would've switched me back. So, what can you do, you know? Just some things don't go your way, and then got caught behind him for the rest of that and just understeered too much.
"Unfortunate, but still great points."
In the bp Cooldown Room, Payne smiled to Feeney, admitting he had "too much momentum."
Payne also apologised to Bell, continuing: "I was just getting frustrated, you know? I just felt like we did such a good job in the first stint and then, yeah, to kinda lose it like that was pretty unfortunate.
"I was getting a bit frustrated, but I apologised to him. I'm sure he understands. He's heard it all before."
Feeney cut Payne's lead to 107 points heading into Sunday.
