Waters hangs on in Townsville thriller, Payne points leader

Cam Waters has strengthened his 2026 Repco Supercars Championship credentials as he fended off Brodie Kostecki in a Friday thriller at the NTI Townsville 500.

Waters was able to best Kostecki off the front row, and managed his lead superbly, fending off a flying Dick Johnson Racing Mustang by just 0.2s at the finish.

Rounding out the podium was Matt Payne, who regained the championship lead for the first since March despite a strong recovery drive from 16th to 10th for Broc Feeney.

Kostecki flared into wheelspin off off pole position, and was swamped as Matt Payne tagged the rear right corner of the #17, whilst Chaz Mostert also blazed by the lagging Shell V-Power Ford.

Waters had a free kick into Turn 2, whilst Kostecki slipped all the way back to fourth, but was wasting no time in charging back through the field.

Payne made a big move to the inside of Mostert at Turn 11 on lap 3, with Kostecki making an opportunistic move to follow the Penrite Ford.

Kostecki then put all manners of pressure on the Kiwi, looking down the inside at Turns 13, 2, and 3 before making an authoritative move at Turn 11 on lap 4.

By that stage, Waters had pulled one and a half seconds in the lead, but Kostecki set about closing the gap quickly, the gap between first and second closing to half a second on lap 11.

In third, Payne was complaining about a potential engine issue as he dropped back from the lead pair, though engineer Jack Bell affirmed to his young charge that there was nothing showing on telemetry.

Mostert was also falling back, with Kai Allen launching two unsuccessful moves from a long way back at Turn 2, before deciding to settle into fifth for the opening run.

Penrite Racing showed their hand by bringing Allen in at the end of lap 13 for a four tyre stop in an attempt to undercut Mostert, whilst Kostecki closed up to the rear bar of Waters.

After starting in 16th and 19th respectively, Red Bull Ampol Racing duo Broc Feeney and Will Brown were also on the charge early, with Brown charging into the top 10 and by his teammate inside the opening 10 laps.

Kostecki was throwing caution to the wind in his battle with Waters, dipping two wheels off at the exit of the high-speed Turn 6 as he remained around half a second off the back of the Monster Mustang.

Payne had drifted to 2.6 seconds off the lead by the halfway mark of the race, and Penrite Racing brought him in to gain some ground on fresher tyres, with Mostert following.

However, a hold up on the left front wheel saw Payne drop behind teammate Allen, who had stopped four laps earlier, whilst Tickford immediately reacted to bring Waters in.

Kostecki stayed out, whilst Waters emerged comfortably ahead of the Penrite Mustangs. Payne would move back ahead of Allen, who sidestepped his Bathurst-winning teammate at Turn 11.

Shell V-Power Racing finally brought their man in at the end of lap 24, but by virtue of running long fell behind not only Waters, but also Payne and Allen, with Mostert applying the blowtorch throughout his out lap.

But, by the end of the out lap, he was already by Allen, having scythed down the inside at the final hairpin. That left the equation at two cars and six seconds in the final 10 laps.

Not only was Kostecki closing on Waters, but Payne was also closing, with the prediction coming from the Penrite Racing camp that there would be a three-way fight for the win in the final lap and a half.

A three-way fight wouldn't eventuate, as Payne slipped into Kostecki's clutches with three laps to go, losing second to the flying Shell V-Power Ford at the final hairpin.

The gap was six tenths of a second as they started the final lap, and though Kostecki could close right up to the rear bumper of Waters in the final sector, it was too little too late.

Allen secured fourth ahead of Mostert, followed by Randle, Brown, Ryan Wood, Jayden Ojeda, and Feeney.

Saturday action in Townsville begins with Boost Mobile Qualifying at 11:25am AEST, followed by a Top Ten Shootout at 12:10pm, before Race 21 at 3:05pm.