Penrite Racing have dominated the biggest championship points paying weekend in 25 years, with a maiden career victory for Kai Allen and two race wins for Matt Payne at the Christchurch Super440. After Payne led Allen to sweep the top two spots in Practice, Payne continued the hot start to the weekend with Pole Position for Race 10 of the season while Allen lined up from a strong fourth position. A wild opening lap, with Safety Car boards shown and withdrawn, scrambled the order but both Penrite Racing drivers kept a level head to emerge with Allen in third and Payne in fourth. Allen took the undercut gamble and dove to the pits on lap 17 for two rear tyres, while Paynefollowed four laps later with a four-tyre call. After the pit cycle Allen emerged in the race lead, with Payne among the chasing pack in fourth. Masterful tyre management and an unwavering performance under enormous pressure saw Allen hold off the charging cars on fresher tyres to take his first career race victory. In Race two a fantastic launch from Allen put Supercars’ newest race winner second after the opening lap, while Payne recovered from a tricky start to settle in for third in the early running. Allen pitted on lap 17, taking four tyres while Payne emerged from a big over-cut eight laps later with two fresh tyres and right on the back of Allen’s battle for the lead. Unfortunately, a loose right rear wheel brought Payne’s race undone, as he had to make an extra pit stop after the tyre came loose on his out-lap. After a brilliant effort, challenging the leader for the entirety of the race, Allen brought home his second consecutive podium finish in second place. Payne pounced immediately from the front row in Race Three to take the race lead on lap one. With a clear pace advantage, Payne was able to pit later than the majority of the field and still emerge as the effective race leader. The Kiwi local was unchallenged as he went on to record a commanding victory by a staggering 11.6 second margin, his first win of 2026. Allen was locked in battle again for a large majority of his race, doing an exceptional job to hold on for seventh despite losing some time in the pit cycle and immense pressure from fresher tyres behind. After another scintillating qualifying lap and a lap record to earn his third pole position of the season, Payne put together another dominating performance from the front of the field in the final race of the round. A strong launch from Allen saw him climb from sixth on the grid to third, with an undercut on the first pit cycle elevating him to second. The Penrite Racing duo put together a crushing performance across the 200km race, with Payne leading Allen by eight seconds before a Safety Car with seven laps to go. Smart teamwork on the restart protected the one-two result for the team, and a third win from four races across the weekend. Payne maintains third in the Driver’s Standings and closes the gap to the lead, 46 points in arrears, while Allen’s maiden career victory has helped propel him to fifth in the points. Penrite Racing have also returned to second in the Team’s Standings. The next round of the Supercars Championship is the Tasmania Super440 from May 22-24 at Symmons Plains Raceway. | 
