2025 ITM Taupo Super 440

Penrite Racing enjoyed a hugely successful weekend in New Zealand, as both Matthew Payne and Kai Allen recorded career-best results in the Repco Supercars Championship.

Hometown hero Payne led the charge on home turf, winning the prestigious Jason Richards Memorial Trophy with two victories and a fourth-place finish at the 2025 ITM Taupō Super 440.

Rookie Allen also impressed with a pair of top-10 finishes — his first in the ultra-competitive category.

It was an unforgettable weekend for the 22-year-old Payne, who proved too strong for the field and claimed the JR Trophy by 33 points over Chaz Mostert. He became just the fifth New Zealander to win a Supercars event on home soil.

Payne’s weekend began with a dominant pole position lap in Saturday morning’s Race 8 qualifying session, topping the timesheets by seven-hundredths of a second and breaking the lap record in the process.

In Race 8, an aggressive launch off the line set the tone as smart strategy and consistent pace helped Payne lead every lap and cross the finish line more than four seconds ahead of Cam Waters. He again broke the lap record en route to his third career victory.

Race 9 saw Payne start from P7 and pick up a five-second penalty for a false start. Despite the setback, he delivered a strong performance, executing several clean passes, including a decisive move on Broc Feeney on the final lap to finish fourth and remain in strong contention for round honours.

A chaotic opening lap in Race 10 worked in Payne’s favour, as he jumped from sixth to second before taking the lead from Cameron Hill on Lap 8 with a bold move at Turn 4. From there, he held his nerve and drove a commanding race to take the win by three seconds and seal the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy.

For Allen, Sunday brought a mix of highs and lows. A standout qualifying run earned him his first Top 10 Shootout appearance, where he improved to start seventh on the grid. However, he was caught in opening-lap chaos, was spun around, and dropped to the back of the field. He battled back across the 61-lap race to finish 18th.

Despite that setback, Allen’s weekend included two milestone performances. In Race 8, he gained 15 positions to finish seventh — his first top-10 finish. Just hours later in Race 9, he overcame a rough start that dropped him to 16th, methodically climbing back to 10th for his second consecutive top-10 result.

Following the Taupō round, Payne now sits third in the championship standings, with Allen rising to 16th. Penrite Racing moved up to fifth in the Teams Championship.