Matt Payne, Garth Tander reunite with Bathurst Ford
Famous Mustang retired after 2025 Supercars season
Penrite Ford on display at Penrite centenary event
Matt Payne and Garth Tander have been reunited with their historic Bathurst-winning Ford Mustang, nearly 12 months on from their stirring victory.
Kiwi Payne and veteran Tander combined to take out a remarkable 2025 edition of the Repco Bathurst 1000, winning from 18th on the grid.
The car, chassis GR-01, was retired at the end of the 2025 season, after Payne added victory on the streets of Adelaide to its decorated CV.
At the end of 2025, team boss Stephen Grove labelled GR-01 the squad's "biggest trophy" of the year.
“We’ve had a great year. Winning Bathurst, both Matty Payne and Kai Allen winning races, and having Kai in contention through to the Grand Final,” Grove said at the time.
“Most importantly, we can park the Bathurst car now. It will never race again. It’s the biggest trophy from this year."
The win was Ford’s first at Mount Panorama since 2019, Payne’s first, and Tander’s sixth.Tander duly retired from Supercars racing after the win.
GR-01 was restored to its Bathurst condition after 2025, and was put on display at Penrite’s centenary celebrations at the Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton overnight.
There, Payne and Tander reunited themselves with the car that delivered them their most storied moment together, and Grove Racing’s biggest day.
The event also featured GR-03, the car raced by Kai Allen at Bathurst, and a replica of the 2017 race-winning Erebus Motorsport Commodore, which was also backed by Penrite.
GR-03 is now Grove Racing’s spare car, with Allen moving into a new Mustang in Darwin.
The 2026 season resumes at Mount Panorama from October 8.
