Supercars rookie Matthew Payne. Photo / Photosport
Adapting on the fly seems the mantra for this year’s Supercars teams as they come to grips with the new Gen3 car.
While it’s the same for all drivers, the 2023 rookies are having to dig deepest to get on top of the cars and tracks.
New Zealander Matthew Payne seems to be making the best of it, sitting 17th in the championship, with fellow rookies Declan Fraser 22nd and Cameron Hill 23rd.
“The season has gone quite well so far,” 20-year-old Payne told the Herald. “We haven’t made too many mistakes in terms of racing. We have, though, been on the wrong side of strategy a few times, which prevented us from having better results.
“However, in terms of car speed, we’ve had great qualifying pace and done really well. I’m still learning a lot, getting used to the new car and everything else that comes with that.”
The opening two race weekends have seen the new guard of fast youngsters challenging the more established drivers, with Brodie Kostecki on two wins — the same as defending champion Shane van Gisbergen — and Broc Feeney and Cameron Waters with a win apiece.
Kostecki leads the standings with 514 points, with Chaz Mostert second (482), followed by van Gisbergen and Andre Heimgartner — with Payne, the only Kiwis on the Supercars grid full-time this year — third and fourth respectively on 428 and 386.
While the young guns all came through Super2, with close, hard-fought racing, stepping up to the main game is tough.
“Super2 was competitive during the racing. You’ve got people in Super2 trying to prove themselves and showing everyone what they can do,” said the Grove Racing driver.
“In Supercars, everyone is fast and they race smarter. It’s a bit more strategic and different. But it’s still super hard racing.
“With three drivers moving into the main game this year, there are a lot of young drivers now. There was a bit of a gap [not many rookies] a few years ago and for sure now we’re all trying to give it a bit of a go.
“For us younger guys, it’s hard to match some of the others who have been doing it for quite a while. They just know what they have to do. It’s hard but it’s all about adapting.”
Supercars are in Western Australia this weekend for round three of the series, and the tight and technical Perth track will challenge the drivers. There will be plenty of head scratching and learning over the two days of racing and teams will be hoping the cars roll out of the trailers somewhat in the right window.
The Gen3 cars are still a bit of an unknown but the racing is likely to be close, fast and full of drama, with one race tonight and two tomorrow.
“I know the track, having been here last year in Super2,” Payne said. “It’s going to be interesting, with the possibility of high tyre degradation.
“It’s a short track, so the racing is going to be pretty close, and qualifying is going to be important to be at the front for the start of the race. Passing is not easy here, and there won’t be as much as there was at Melbourne. It’ll be important to be on the right strategy, that’s for sure.”