2026 RD 1 - SYDNEY

The Penrite Racing duo of Matt Payne and Kai Allen are now second in the Team’s Standings after a rapid start to the 2026 Repco Supercars Championship, with Matt Payne’s double podium also tying him for the series lead in the drivers’ standings.

Penrite Racing topped the opening competitive session of the season in the weekend’s sole practice session, with Allen leading Payne for first and second on the timesheets.

Allen was caught on the wrong side of some tight margins in Part 1 of Qualifying on Friday, a miscommunication over the radio hampering him and putting him 17th on the grid. Payne set a superb flying lap in Part 2 of Friday Qualifying to earn third on the grid for the season opener.

A short 26 lap sprint kicked off the 2026 season, with Allen getting the best of the opening lap melee in a storming drive up to 13th on the first lap. Masterful strategy from the Penrite crew allowed both drivers to make the most of their pace, Payne securing fourth and Allen rising up the order to 11th.

Payne progressed to the Top 10 Shootout on Saturday while Allen narrowly missed the cut by just 0.04 seconds, earning him 12th on the grid. Payne found a sizeable gain in the shootout with a stunning lap, leaping from effective ninth to qualify third.

An early Safety Car in Saturday night’s race threw the field in to a frenzy, with Payne capitalising to claim second on the road through the mid phase of the race while Allen kept a clean nose amidst a wild restart and vaulted to 10th.

The Penrite Racing pair maximised their speed through to the end of a largely trouble free race, with Payne bringing his Ford Mustang home for his first podium of 2026 in third and Allen completing another charging drive in eighth.

Both drivers cruised through to the Top 10 Shootout on Sunday, Payne by virtue of the fastest time and Allen comfortably through in sixth.

Allen set a superb lap in the shootout, earning a first career front row start with second on the grid. Payne was just two tenths away, putting him sixth in an incredibly tight session.

The Penrite duo were maintaining a comfortable race in second and fifth after the first pit cycle, when a Safety Car brought the field in for the final pit stops of the weekend just after the halfway mark and set up a wild restart.

With rain falling and slick tyres still on the cars, Allen mounted an audacious challenge for the race lead and momentarily led the field after going around the outside at turn one. A fantastic restart from Payne slotted him into third behind his Penrite Racing teammate.

Heartbreakingly, a steering arm failure put an end to Allen’s charge with just seven laps to go. The Penrite crew worked hard to get Car 26 back on track to be classified for valuable points in 23rd.

Payne expertly guided his Ford Mustang home in second place, securing a double podium for the round and tying him on 259 points for the lead of the Championship.

Kai Allen – Driver #26 Ford Mustang

“Had a really strong day today. Riccardo and the team made a few tweaks overnight and it paid off – we made the shootout and started from the front row. The race began strong, the car felt mega, and we took the race lead. Unfortunately, a left-side tyre rod failure ended our charge. That’s racing. We regroup, reset, and come back stronger at the Melbourne Grand Prix.”

Brenton Grove, CEO, Grove

“That was a good first weekend for us. We had the pace at times and were the fastest at times too but didn’t quite execute throughout the weekend as well as we would’ve liked. It was a shame what happened on Sunday afternoon and lost a double podium but it shows the speed of the car, and the speed of the team – we will come back stronger at the AGP.”