Breakthrough win for Penrite Racing
Sunday, October 29 – Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast
Penrite Racing broke through for its maiden Supercars win after a nail-biting battle to the finish saw David Reynolds take the chequered flag first on Sunday at the Gold Coast 500.
0.189 of a second is all that could separate Reynolds from championship leader Brodie Kostecki in second place, after the pair swapped positions in a thrilling battle to the very last corner of the race.
On a watershed day for the Grove family, who tasted Supercars success for the first time since their arrival in 2021, there was nothing but jubilant scenes all round as the team erupted on the pit wall, then roared as Reynolds lifted the winner’s surfboard and sprayed everyone with a fire extinguisher.
Gridded up P2 with Payne P3, the Penrite Mustangs jumped cleanly and went to war with Kostecki and Chaz Mostert in the opening stages of the race.
On lap 33 of 85, Reynolds pitted five laps after Kostecki and car #26 engineer Alistair McVean worked his strategy magic to get a fuel load advantage on the Erebus pilot.
Payne’s teamwork on track let Reynolds free to set off in the chase for lead.
On lap 60 in the second and final round of pit stops the strategy call paid off as Reynolds jumped Kostecki in the pits to take the lead of the race by two seconds as he looked to secure his first win in five years.
Kostecki’s pace was too much for Reynolds as everyone held their breath when the two cars went side by side into the back chicane with 13 laps to go, Reynolds relenting but staying on the tail of the Coca Cola Camaro.
The pressure paid off just two laps later when Reynolds capitalised on a mistake from Kostecki and retook the lead of the race.
From here it was a straight up street fight. A safety car allowed Reynolds to cool his fading tyres as McVean coached him on the radio in the dying laps.
Winners were grinners as Reynolds and Penrite Racing held on to join the Supercars winners circle as celebrations kicked off on the glitter strip.
THE HOUSE OF PAYNE
In his first appearance at the famed Surfers Paradise street circuit, young gun Matt Payne was the talk of pit lane as he put in an impressive showing across the weekend.
Sealing a front row start for Saturdays first 250km race, Payne sent tongues wagging with his blistering qualifying speed as he attacked the uncompromising track all weekend long without error. Coming away with his best Supercars finish to date, P4 in the Sunday race after hounding Cam Waters all the way to the finish line.
GOLD COAST 500 RESULTSSUNDAY RACE (250KMS/78 LAPS)
Reynolds: P1
Payne: P4
SUNDAY TOP TEN SHOOTOUT
Reynolds: P2
Payne: P3
SUNDAY QUALIFYING
Reynolds: P3
Payne: P9
SATURDAY RACE (250KMS/78 LAPS)
Reynolds: P3
Payne: P9
SATURDAY TOP TEN SHOOTOUT
Reynolds: P5
Payne: P2
SATURDAY QUALIFYING
Reynolds: P7
Payne: P2
COMMENTS
“A great result for the team today, I have never driven for a harder working team and the win today is a great reward for everyone.”
“My car was really strong in the first two stints however, I struggled with balance in the last stint and was very busy handling that at the end of the race.
“It was tough but enjoyable racing and Brodie pushed really hard. After he passed me I tried to stay close and when he made a small mistake at turn 11 I took my opportunity.
“I am relieved and ecstatic with the win, it feels like my first win given its been so long since my last. I am looking forward to finishing strong with the team in Adelaide.”
Matthew Payne, Car 19 driver
“Another strong day for us making the top 10, jumping up to P3 in the shootout and finishing in P4 in the race.
“Overall, a really strong weekend in terms of car pace and results which is pleasing. I am really motivated to finish strongly in Adelaide and improving further.”
David Cauchi, Team Principal
“It’s such a great result for the team and Dave, there is a lot of hard work that goes into winning a race and having a weekend like we had. Matt was fast all weekend, so we had two very competitive cars which as a team lifts everyone’s energy.
“It gives us great momentum heading into Adelaide and we look forward to finishing the season strongly.”
Brenton Grove, CEO, Grove Group
“Today’s result was so encouraging for the team, our partners and our fans. We’ve been building towards this for a long time and it’s only just the beginning.”
“We’ve now got the monkey off our back and can focus on Adelaide to build into a strong off season to take this momentum forward.”
DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP
Reynolds: P12
Payne: P14
