ROUND 2 AGP RECAP
Penrite Racing endured a mixed weekend of racing during the second round of the Repco Supercars Championship at Albert Park, supporting the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.
Both drivers Matt Payne and Kai Allen were competitive in qualifying, however, the team rued some incidents and mechanical issues that put a dampener on their race results.
Despite some troubles, Payne finished the weekend 11th on points and sits a competitive sixth in the driver championship standings, while Supercars rookie Allen had his best-ever round result, taking 15th and moving up to 19th overall in the Driver Championship.
The event’s four scheduled races were cut short by one when Sunday’s race was abandoned due to extreme wet weather.
On Thursday, Payne qualified strongly for the first race to start sixth, and was in the mix for a top result, ultimately finishing eighth.
In the second race, the New Zealander started a lowly 17th but made up ground early, only to suffer a power steering issue. By the time he had reached the chequered flag, he had salvaged 11th place.
In the third (and what would be the final) race on Saturday, Payne’s third place qualifying position was brought to naught at the first corner when he was the innocent party in a three-car melee. He dropped to the back of the pack but made a brilliant recovery, crossing the line 10th.
Allen quailed 18th, 13th and 15th for the three races. He was caught up in some frantic racing in the first, finishing 20th, but in the final two races, the rookie kept his nose clean and gained positions in both races, finishing 12th respectively in each outing – his best results in his short career at the top level.
The next round of the Supercars Championship takes us to Taupo in New Zealand – Payne’s home race – in three week’s time.
QUOTES
Matthew Payne
#19 Penrite Racing Ford Mustang
“Overall, it was probably a disappointing weekend for us in the #19,” said Payne.
“We had some good qualifying results, but ultimately, we didn’t have the race results to show what we had.
“We had a really good run in the first race, but then we had some power steering dramas in the second race. In the third, we were turned around and had to come back through the pack.
“The results were what we could get as the races played out, but a little disappointing that we didn’t get to show the potential with the speed that we had. I thought we were quite fast.
“The good news is that we have a straight car, and we’ll move onto Taupo.”
Kai Allen
#26 Penrite Racing Ford Mustang
“It was good to get my first Australian Grand Prix under my belt, but I don’t feel like we got the results that we deserved,” said Allen.
“For me, it was a massive learning curve. Every time I get out of the car, I’m learning more. It’s good that we finished all of the races. There was a lot of carnage too, I learned a lot with race craft, maximising the green tyre, so positive for me.
“The results weren’t so positive, but I’m taking a lot out of these weekends, and I already can’t wait to get to Taupo for the next round.”
David Cauchi
Team Principal, Penrite Racing
“It was a mixed weekend for us,” said Cauchi.
“We definitely showed speed in qualifying and had good results there, some of the races didn’t go our way which meant that we didn’t score as many points as our car speed showed.
“And very disappointing not to be able to start the last race where we had strong qualifying positions. We need to work on our overall speed so that we can be challenging up the front more regularly.”
