Matt Payne praises title rival Broc Feeney
Payne and Feeney added to rivalry in Perth
Payne turned tables after Saturday defeat
Matt Payne has hailed arch-rival Broc Feeney for keeping it clean in their defining battle at the Bosch Power Tools Perth Super 440.
A day after Feeney pinched victory from Payne, the championship leader — aided by a strategy masterclass — turned the tables in Sunday’s finale.
Payne and Feeney made wheel-to-wheel contact following the final pit stops when Feeney emerged from pit lane. On warm tyres, Payne got alongside, and completed the move through the treacherous Turn 2/3 complex.
Both cars copped tyre damage, yet both Payne and Feeney nursed their Mustangs home to fill the top two spots on the podium for the eighth time in Supercars.
Feeney and team boss Jamie Whincup were both disappointed to be defeated, with Payne shocked to bring home his car given the state of the damaged tyre.
Speaking post-race, Payne said “he knew” Feeney would be right there, and praised his fellow Ford driver for racing fairly.
“I knew it was going to be close. Jack [Bell, engineer] had mentioned Broc was going to be coming in that next lap,” Payne said.
“I knew. Basically, saw him exit the pit lane and then I came around the first corner and I was trying to get the best run I could.
“He came out of the pits and struggled to get traction.
“I just went for whatever was free basically and tried to get enough overlap to create an opportunity and luckily we could just squeeze on through.
“Big respect to him. He didn’t completely race me off the track, but it was pretty good racing.”
On the battle, Feeney said: “It was obviously pretty close up through the hill. Didn’t expect to once again have a bit more pace on him in that last stint. Not much I could do with it.
“I tried to have a crack at the last corner and he blocked me.
“Those guys [Payne and Penrite Racing] are doing such a good job at the moment. They’re a long way in front of everyone, so we’ve still got a long way to go. Proud to obviously close that gap this weekend."
Payne leads Feeney by 118 points heading to the Repco Sprint Cup decider at Ipswich on August 21-23.
