'We own that': Triple Eight fighting to stay top Ford team

Triple Eight Team Manager Mark Dutton has outlined his team's challenge of remaining the benchmark Ford team after rival squads put the hammer down in Melbourne.

Broc Feeney won the third race of the weekend, but it was all Brodie Kostecki, who won the other three races, claimed the Larry Perkins Trophy, and the championship lead.

Feeney's Sunday DNF hurt, while Will Brown also hit trouble with a penalty in the Friday race. However, drivers from all Ford rival squads lost points.

Matt Payne lost points over incidents in the Saturday and Sunday races, Thomas Randle crashed out of the Saturday race, and Shell V-Power Racing Team rookie Rylan Gray copped clutch issues and was disqualified from Race 5 Qualifying on Thursday.

Through it all, Triple Eight was out-scored by DJR, Tickford and Penrite Racing over the weekend, with Toyota rivals Walkinshaw TWG Racing just 12 points behind.

Amid repairs to Feeney's damaged car, Dutton admitted his team needs to turn it around to remain the Blue Oval benchmark.

“The Fords are obviously very strong at Albert Park, so hats off the to lads that nailed the set-up," Dutton said.

"We were never totally happy with our speed this weekend and even at our speediest we felt we were lacking a little.

"But we own that. We need to work hard going forward to make sure we’re the fastest Mustangs."

Payne was on track to bounce back in the finale, only to be undone by a mystery puncture. Teammate Kai Allen, meanwhile, fought through the field to finish third overall, and jump to eighth in points.

“We had great car speed with both Matt Payne and Kai Allen and that’s really positive moving forward. We just didn’t get the results the cars deserved," Penrite Racing owner Stephen Grove said.

“It’s just racing as this track at this level. Everyone has been involved in incidents across the four races but the big positive for us to take away is the speed in both cars.”

Beyond Kostecki, and save for Randle's crash, arguably the biggest winners were Tickford, which retained the teams' championship lead and kept Cam Waters within reach of the drivers' points lead.

Waters himself forecasted a tough fight to be top Ford team pre-season, saying: "To be the best Ford team, you have to do a bloody good job."

“A very strong weekend for us and we continue to lead the teams’ championship. The game this year is going to be about getting consistent points, not just focussing on a single race weekend," Tickford's Rod Nash said.

"Between the two drivers, they have been consistent and each scored a P3 result. It’s strong racing out there and the name of the game is staying out of trouble."

The 2026 Repco Supercars Championship resumes across the Tasman, with the ITM NZ Doubleheader kicking off in Taupō on April 10-12. Tickets are on sale now.

Payne and Chaz Mostert, then in a Ford, shared the wins in Taupō last April.

Points scored teams: 2026 Melbourne SuperSprint