Penrite Racing unveil livery tweaks for JR Trophy defence

Penrite Racing will once again run a revised livery in New Zealand, adding a local touch to their 2026 livery for both legs of the ITM New Zealand Double Header.

Added to the new-for-2026 black and gold livery are several gold ferns across both the #19 Mustang of Matt Payne and the #26 Mustang of Kai Allen.

It continues the team's tradition of running New Zealand-themed liveries for the trip across the Tasman, having run a special silver fern livery in 2024, before running an ANZAC Appeal livery last year.

Payne enters this weekend's Taupō Super 440 as the defending Jason Richards Memorial Trophy winner, having won two of the three races held in Taupō last year.

An early championship leader following a run of four straight podium finishes, Payne enters this weekend fourth in the standings after striking dramas in the last two races of the Melbourne SuperSprint.

He has also been under the microscope as persistent rumours about a potential switch to General Motors continue to simmer in the background.

Teammate Allen had a starring role in Melbourne, finishing third in the Larry Perkins Trophy standings despite being swept up in incidents in three of the four races.

The South Australian recorded his first career top 10 finishes last season in Taupō, and climbed up to eighth in the standings. Had a steering failure not cost him a potential win in Sydney, he could be knocking on the door of the top five.

Track action in Taupō begins tomorrow.