That left the 1NZ team playing catch-up for the rest of the night, missing a place on the podium.
After three rounds of racing, Zachan and Payne each had three wins and were two points ahead of the Murrays and Auckland riders Peter Adams and Jason Hira.
Payne’s fortunes took a turn for the worse in round four when a late race stoppage and restart denied them a fourth win.
The 22G bike of Russell Stuart and Callum Innes crashed on the back straight just before Payne began his last lap, and the officials deemed that the red lights had been activated before Payne and Carter crossed the start-finish line.
From the restart, Glen and Emma Murray got the jump over Payne and Carter with a win that took them into solo third place.
Heading into the last round of racing, Zachan and Franklin led on 20 points, with Payne and Carter in second on 19 and the Murrays a further point back.
Needing a win to wrap up the championship, Zachan got home 0.8 seconds ahead of local riders Aaron and Bryce Rose, the title sponsors.
The Murrays needed a win in the third heat of the round to give themselves a chance of getting second place, and did just that, meaning Payne had to win the last heat of the night to finish in second overall.
However, Payne could do no better than third behind Craig Bowler and Ann Plummer, and the Moohan/Mason outfit dropping him and Carter back to the third step of the podium.
It was an up-and-down night for the local crews, with John Hannan and Nigel Sturgeon losing a cylinder on their BMW engine, while finishing second in the first round putting them out for the night.
The Rose brothers had two wins, two second-placings and finished seventh overall, but a disqualification for contact in the first heat effectively ended their run at the title from the outset.
Zachan and Franklin have been in fine form all season and their win was no surprise, but Glen and Emma Murray were the story of the night, with four consecutive wins after a third-place finish in the first round of heats.
Zac Harris was the unlucky driver in the superstock class, totally destroying his right rear tyre in the first heat before suffering the mortification of two late-race losses.
Harris ran wide enough on the final corner of the second heat to allow Zane Dykstra through, then was pipped right on the line by Brayden Robinson in the last race - losing by a margin of just 7/100ths of a second!
Kaelin Mooney took out the opening superstock race.
Guest drivers won the first two heats in the stockcars, with Paul Johnston bringing brother Mark’s car home, and Mitchell Lockett piloting the Kaelin Mooney car to a win.
Normal business was resumed in the two final stockcar heats with Dion Mooney winning both, despite some attention from Dennis Black.
The youth ministocks races were down in numbers due to other events, and Palmerston North driver Harrison Cheetham took advantage to win all four races in a dominant display.
But it was the sidecars who stole the show on a track with plenty of drive and passing opportunities, providing plenty of entertaining racing for a good crowd.
The speedway season is fast coming to a close, with just one meeting remaining at Oceanview, but one that will offer plenty of entertainment.
Saturday, April 1 is Memorial Night, with memorial races in the superstock, sidecar, youth ministock and production saloon classes, plus the final championship of the season, the West Coast Superstocks.
As well as an action-packed racing programme, the season will end on a high, with the TradeZone Fireworks Display set to light up the sky over Oceanview.
It will be a spectacular end to what has been a busy and successful 50th-anniversary season.
