Matt Payne and Garth Tander gave Grove Racingand Ford achieved a dramatic win in the 2025 Bathurst 1000, which faced varied weather conditionsMount Panorama on Sunday.
A competition that began under clear blue skies turned into a struggle for survival as adverse weather arrived, transforming the 6.213km track into a frozen surface. Following six safety car periods, the race narrowed down to a group of three cars, gliding around in near-total darkness, all competing for victory.
Five laps remaining,Cooper Murray looked like giving Erebus MotorsportA fairy tale second consecutive victory. He maintained a slim advantage fromJames GoldingHowever, during Turn 2, Golding’s PremiAir Chevrolet Camaro nudged Murray’s similar vehicle, causing it to spin halfway, which pushed Murray back to fourth place—and moved Payne into the lead.
Golding received a five-second penalty, and although he took the lead on the track with one lap remaining, Payne remained composed to secure the win. The gap created by the incident was filled byDavid Reynolds, the 2017 champion who started far beyond the top 10 due to his co-driverLee Holdsworthled mid-race, but was overtaken due to pit strategy when the weather changed.
Golding, alongside experienced co-driver David Russell, finished in third place, ahead of Murray, who made his second appearance at the Bathurst 1000 and showed promise – as did his rookie co-driver, Jobe Stewart.
“That final [session], in the rain, when I got into the car, it seemed like an eternity,” said Payne, who had difficulties during qualifying, forcing Tander to start from 18th position.
I witnessed Jimmy entering Cooper’s side, and I somewhat anticipated that would occur. I was running low on tyres towards the end, but this victory, I’m going to embrace it!
Tander was pleased with his sixth victory, marking his initial win in a Ford.
This fellow, a tall New Zealander at Bathurst!” he said. “Those final 40-50 laps, the way he handled that last lap, was a truly remarkable performance.
During a week marked by significant discussion about engine equality, six Chevrolets finished behind the victorious Ford.
Russell honored his teammate Golding, who is departing the Grove team when the season concludes.
What an enormous effort, under such dangerous conditions.
Holdsworth called the race “an absolute thriller, well done to the Grove team.”
Reynolds mentioned that his car was “on fire” and without the rain, “we could have finished one [position] better!”
The competition appeared to be a showdown betweenWalkinshaw Andretti United’s Ryan Wood and Broc Feeney, who were separated by twelve seconds with 40 laps remaining. However, with newly-replaced wet tires, the lack of heat proved problematic for Feeney, causing him to send the Triple Eight Chevrolet into the barrier at Forrest’s Elbow.
There was only heartache for most of the top teams. Triple Eight ended up in sixth and 17th place, with Broc Feeney appearing to be in line for a victory until he hit the barrier at the outside of the Forrest’s Elbow corner. By the time the car was retrieved, he was a lap behind and he andJamie Whincupmounted a strong recovery given the situation.
Will BrownSimilarly, he appeared to be challenging the leaders after making a surge from outside the top 10, but several off-road incidents caused him to fall down the rankings.
Both Walkinshaw Andretti United Fords encountered issues.Chaz Mosterthad to leave his car behind due to an engine issue before the race reached its midpoint, and the Ryan Wood/Jayden Ojeda Mustang entered the pit lane when a crankshaft sensor malfunctioned with only about 20 laps remaining, while it was in second place and appeared to be the leading contender.
The day became a nightmare for the Kostecki/Hazelwood Ford team, as they faced a clutch failure, an electrical problem that led to a driver swap, and then Kostecki received a pit lane drive-through penalty after colliding with something.Kai AllenFord from behind. After two journeys across the lawn, the pole car was ranked 18th.
His fellow front-row qualifier Cam Waters also faced difficulties, his co-driverMark WinterbottomStaying strong with the leaders until he was caught using slick tires when the rain arrived. He went off the track at Forrest’s Elbow and, after stopping for fixes, lost a lap before regaining it under a wave-around, finishing in 12th place.
The Supercars will now travel to the Gold Coast for two 250km races, marking the first events of the new Finals series, on 24-25 October.
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