Taupo, New Zealand, April 13, 202– Six different Ford drivers from four different teams stood on the podium as the Mustang GT dominated the annual Supercars trip to New Zealand.
Youngster Matt Payne was the stand-out with a pair of wins, as Chaz Mostert also took a victory during a weekend of eager and enthusiastic racing at the Taupo circuit in the North Island.
Mustangs also dominated qualifying for three races over the weekend, with Payne quickest for the first and Brodie Kostecki grabbing two more. For the opening race six Mustangs locked out the first three rows on the grid.
Payne’s performance across the weekend meant he claimed the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy – named in honour of a star Kiwi racer who died from cancer at age 35 – in a significant milestone for the 22-year-old New Zealander.
“That’s probably the one I wanted most. I probably spent most of the day thinking about it. Finally getting that in our hands is super-special,” Payne said.
The positive results in New Zealand moved Payne up to third in the championship standings, second-best of the Fords behind Cam Waters who had a relatively quiet weekend.
“It’s pretty special. It’s pretty incredible,” Payne said as he paid tribute to his Grove Racing team and Mustang GT Supercar.
“It’s been a rocket ship all weekend. Credit to the guys, they did an absolutely awesome job.”
Chaz Mostert showed impressive speed throughout the weekend, with a commanding drive to victory in race two meaning the Ford Mustang was undefeated in both races and qualifying in New Zealand. Both podiums of Saturday’s 37-lap sprints were all-Ford affairs, while the 61-lap[s race on Sunday saw two Mustangs finish in the top three.
Brodie Kostecki was happy to have his Mustang back battling at the front of pack, scoring a podium finish in race two.
“A lot has gone into this. And this is just the start,” said Kostecki.
Other podium finishers included Cam Waters coming home second in the open race of the weekend ahead of Ryan Wood who scored his first career podium for a Mustang lock-out, while Will Davison finished second in race two.
The 2025 Supercars Championship continues at Symmons Plains in Tasmania from May 9-11.
Top Ford Race Results
Race 1
Qualifying:
Matt Payne – 1st
Brodie Kostecki – 2nd
Cam Waters – 3rd
Ryan Wood – 4th
Will Davison – 5th
Chaz Mostert – 6th
Race:
Matt Payne – 1st
Cam Waters – 2nd
Ryan Wood – 3rd
Kai Allen – 7th
Will Davison – 10th
Race 2
Qualifying:
Brodie Kostecki – 1st
Chaz Mostert – 2nd
Will Davison – 4th
Cam Waters – 6th
Matt Payne – 7th
Kai Allen – 8th
Thomas Randle – 10th
Race:
Chas Mostert – 1st
Will Davison – 2nd
Brodie Kostecki – 3rd
Matt Payne – 4th
Thomas Randle – 6th
Ryan Wood – 9th
Kai Allen – 10th
Race 3:
Qualifying:
Brodie Kostecki – 1st
Ryan Wood – 3rd
Thomas Randle – 5th
Matt Payne – 6th
Kai Allen – 7th
Chaz Mostert – 9th
Race:
Matt Payne – 1st
Chaz Mostert – 3rd
Brodie Kostecki – 4th
Thomas Randle – 5th
Will Davison – 9th
Team Owner/Principal Quotes
Rod Nash, Tickford Racing
- “It wasn’t Cam Waters’ weekend, but it is what it is. He had broken suspension, he speared off in qualifying, then he had a wheel nut drama in the pitstop on Sunday.
- “The job for Thomas Randle was gathering points and he was consistent, which is great, with plenty of points after qualifying in the Top 10.
- “It was not completely disastrous, but we’ve had two meetings now where we’ve been hanging in there, so the job now is to find our way back to the front.”
Carl Faux, Walkinshaw Andretti United
- “Three races, three podiums and a win for Chaz Mostert, has got to be an OK weekend. I think we're still searching for the best combination of qualifying speed and race pace. When we get it right, we're definitely in contention.
- “We’re super happy Ryan Wood’s development and he is only going to grow from this weekend after his effort this weekend, including putting a great lap together in the Top 10 Shootout on Sunday.
- “There was some entertaining racing, but I think Supercars needs to look at the cars to ensure they’re robust enough for this style of racing.”
David Noble, Dick Johnson Racing
- “I think we said it would take three or four rounds for things to click and we’ve definitely moved forward again this weekend, with good qualify results and a couple of podiums.
- “Momentum is hard to get and we’re looking to continue with that, as we can build for the next round with belief in what can do. We’re moving away from hoping things go well to having things more in our control.
- “It’s also really encouraging to see how well Will Davison is working with Brodie Kostecki, as Brodie’s attention to detail has been really impressive for Davo.”
David Cauchi, Grove Racing
- “It’s been a really positive weekend. The team really put the whole weekend together, with performance from the first practice session, and that was the really impressive thing.
- “It was great for the team to bring home the JR trophy for Matt Payne at his home race. Kai Allen was really close to Matt in overall performance and his development is tracking in the right direction.
- “We’ve been working toward being consistently at the front and this is one marker, so we’re starting to see some of the fruits of our work.”
Tim Blanchard, Blanchard Racing
- “We’re really struggling at the moment. It was a very challenging weekend. I feel like we made some small improvements on Sunday, but it was too little and too late.
- “We’ve got a bunch of work to do, and we need a major form turnaround. There is not much time before Tassie but there is still a fair bit we can achieve.”
Ford Driver Championship Standings
2. Cam Waters, 617 points
3. Matt Payne, 605
5. Chaz Mostert, 565
6. Brodie Kostecki, 540
9. Thomas Randle, 429
11. Will Davison, 389
12. Ryan Wood, 378
16. Kai Allen, 272
18. James Courtney, 219
26. Aaron Cameron, 99
