Tough weekend at the Mountain for Penrite Racing

The 2026 Repco Bathurst 1000 is complete, with a top-five finish for the #19 Penrite Mustang highlighting a strong recovery drive from Matt Payne and Will Davison.

Kai Allen and Tim Slade suffered brake issues throughout the race, with the control parts ultimately causing issues throughout the 161 laps and seeing them finish in 20th.

Despite the less than perfect results, the team maintained its lead in the Drivers’ and Teams’ Championship as the Repco Supercars Championship prepares for its second ever Finals Series in just a fortnight’s time.

In contrasting weather conditions to the heroics seen in Penrite Racing’s 2025 victory, the race ran without a safety car for a record amount of time under sunny and warm skies.

The long running under green flag conditions made it more difficult to recover from early race issues for the team, which included a 5-second penalty for a driving infringement for the #19 Penrite Mustang, before a drive-through for the same side of the garage following an uncharacteristic error in pit lane.

Despite the setbacks, the #19 Penrite Mustang was speedy and both Payne and Davison managed to claw back plenty of positions as the race unfolded, providing plenty of promise for the Finals campaign ahead.

It was a tale of what might have been for the pair – and despite a very late safety car period in the closing stages, fifth place was a strong result given the earlier penalties.

For Allen and Slade, the duo began the day confidently, opting for an alternate strategy to start the race with Allen one of the few main-game drivers to start the race.

While their opening stints were strong and had the pair set up for a podium charge and a tilt at the Enduro Cup, brake issues caused significant issues as the rest of the day unfolded.

Those issues forced them into extra brake changes and pit stops, ultimately costing them any changes of a significant points haul from 1000km of endurance racing.

The team returns to Melbourne this week, before a quick turnaround for the Gold Coast 500 on 23-25 October on the streets of Surfers Paradise.