Matt Payne wins his first Bathurst 1000 after crucial five-second penalty against James Golding
Updated . First published at
Matt Payne crossed the line as the second driver, but he was the winner of the Bathurst 1000 after a crucial five-second penalty against James Golding.
Wet weather caused havoc at Mount Panorama with multiple safety cars deployed throughout the race.
With five laps to go, Cooper Murray was leading the race. Golding tried to overtake him but made contact with both cars spinning out, gifting Payne the lead.
AS IT HAPPENED: Bathurst 1000
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Golding returned to first but couldn't get a lead of more than five seconds after his infringement penalty, meaning Grove Racing's Payne and Garth Tander were crowned the winners.
Garth Tander embraces Matt Payne. Getty
"What an unbelievable outcome ... that was one of the most unbelievable races in the history of this sport," Neil Crompton said on Fox Sports.
In the final result, Golding managed to finish third alongside David Russell for PremiAir Chevrolet.
David Reynolds and Lee Holdsworth for TRADIE Energy Chevrolet were second.
Murray unluckily finished in fourth.
The win for Payne and Tander was incredible considering they started from 18th place on the grid.
"It's absolutely insane," Payne said.
"On the wet when I got back in the car it felt like forever.
"I saw Jimmy get into the side of Cooper and I kind of predicted that would happen ... but a win's a win, we'll take it."
Matt Payne's team celebrates with him. Getty
For Tander, that's his sixth Bathurst 1000 victory, a feeling he described as "surreal" before praising Payne.
"This guy, something about tall Kiwis at Bathurst," he said.
"Think about the pressure, that last 40-50 laps ... that was a seriously impressive drive."
Payne's win makes him the 67th driver to win the Bathurst 1000 while Tander is one of three drivers to have won six times. The other two are Mark Skaife and Larry Perkins.
Craig Lowndes and Jim Richards have won seven while Peter Brock finished his career with nine.
While it was joy for the men on the podium, there were plenty of horror drives for others.
Brodie Kostecki was last year's winner and the polesitter but had a shocking day.
On the 97th lap, his first in the rain, he smashed into the back of Kai Allen.
"That might have been the pivotal knockout moment," Crompton said. Those words rang true with Kostecki and Scott Hazelwood finishing 18th.
Richie Stanaway, Jaxon Evans, James Courtney, Chaz Mostert, Tony D'Alberto and Tim Slade did not complete the race.
