Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!
Round 8 of the 2026 Supercars Championship, the Bosch Power Tools Perth Super 440 was held on July 31 to August 2 at Barbagallo Raceway in Perth Western Australia.
Barbagallo Raceway originally known as Wanneroo Park first opened on March 2, 1969. Supercars known back then as the Australian Touring Car Championship first raced at the venue in 1973. The track was officially renamed Barbagallo Raceway in 1992.
This year the event marked a milestone for Chaz Mostert starting his 450th round and Cameron Waters starting his 150th round.
In the pre–race sessions:
- Jayden Ojeda was fastest in Practice 1
- Matt Payne was fastest in Practice 2
- Matt Payne was fastest in Qualifying
A lot of time was lost in the qualifying session with 2 red flags for Zac Bates getting stuck in a sand trap and Jobe Stewart doing the same in a separate incident.
In Race 23 Matt Payne started on pole position with Cameron Waters alongside him.
As the race went green Cameron Waters led into turn 1 for the first of 50 laps. The pole sitter Matt Payne dropped back to 2nd place. Ryan Wood gained 1 spot up to third place.
Broc Feeney, Matt Payne’s main rival for the Sprint Cup was in 12th place.
The front runners Cameron Waters, Matt Payne and Ryan Wood were bunched up and put in challenges for the lead on that first lap. Matt Payne took the lead off Cameron Waters at turn 7 and at the start of lap 2 Ryan Wood also slipped past for 2nd place.
Kai Allen took 4th place after he got up the inside of Thomas Randle after he ran wide.
The first car to pit was Jack le Brocq on lap 15.
The first of the leaders to stop was Brodie Kostecki on lap 19. Cooper Murray also pitted on the same lap.
As they reached the middle of the race Matt Payne still held the number 1 spot with a 2.4 second lead over Ryan Wood. Cameron Waters was still holding on to 3rd place.
After they reached 30 of the 50 laps there were only 2 cars remaining to pit, Aaron Cameron and James Golding in positions 1 and 2.
Soon after Broc Feeney set the fastest lap of the race 55.418 seconds whilst in 19th position. That’s quite a feat considering he had the rest of the pack around him.
As they moved into the last 10 laps of the race Kai Allen made contact with Brodie Kostecki’s car that ended up in the sand trap. The safety car was deployed to rescue him.
The restart was on lap 44. Matt Payne was still in control followed by Ryan Wood and Chaz Mostert who had taken up 3rd place.
In the remaining laps Chaz Mostert ran wide and Anton de Pasquale took advantage of his error and passed him for 3rd place. It was bad luck for Mostert to lose a podium finish.
By lap 48 just 4 laps after the safety car, Matt Payne had created an incredible 3+ second lead over his closest rival.
He kept that lead and took the win 3.179 seconds ahead of Ryan Wood. Anton de Pasquale right on his tail, took 3rd place.
Race 23 results:
1st Matt Payne – Grove Racing
2nd Ryan Wood – Walkinshaw TWG Racing
3rd Anton de Pasquale – Team 18
In race 24 Matt Payne once again started on pole position. His rival for the Sprint Cup Broc Feeney was alongside him.
Matt Payne took the lead into turn 1 for the first of 50 laps. Behind him was Broc Feeney and Kai Allen.
Feeney really wanted the lead and for an exciting couple of laps raced line astern with Matt Payne.
On lap 6 Matt Payne set the fastest lap of the race so far, 55.385 seconds. He now had a 1 second lead over Broc Feeney in second place.
By lap 17 Chaz Mostert was in 4th place and was the first car to pit.
The other front runners stayed out because they had track position. Matt Payne soon increased his lead to 2.3 seconds over Broc Feeney. Payne’s teammate Kai Allen was right on Feeney’s tail.
There were still 17 cars yet to take their mandatory pit stop. Kai Allen pitted along with Thomas Randle on lap 22. Broc Feeney pitted on lap 23 to cover off the undercut from Kai Allen.
By the middle of the race Matt Payne and Will Brown pitted. There were still 12 cars remaining to take their stops before the track order was sorted.
Later on, Matt Payne was being held up by another car and Broc Feeney was able to pass him. There were still 2 cars yet to stop before Broc Feeney would assume the lead of the race.
As the race was reaching its final stages Broc Feeney’s lead was just 0.505 seconds over Matt Payne. Kai Allen was still in third place.
Will Brown was trying to reach the front and had gained 7 spots and now in 5th place.
Broc Feeney seemed inspired, not just by the possibility of the race win but also by the Sprint Cup. He drove like a demon to create a bigger lead over his rival. The front of the pack began to spread out. It was now just a matter of ensuring they made no errors to get a podium finish.
In the end Broc Feeney crossed the finish line with a 1.583 second win over Matt Payne. Kai Allen took 3rd place 4+ seconds later. It was a further 7+ seconds before Chaz Mostert took 4th place.
Race 24 results:
1st Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing
2nd Matt Payne – Grove Racing
3rd Kai Allen – Grove Racing
For Race 25 Broc Feeney finally earned himself a pole position. Alongside him was Cameron Waters.
Ryan Wood who was supposed to start on the second row of the grid in 4th had to come into the pits on the formation lap due to an air box issue. He ended up missing the start.
As the race got underway Broc Feeney led into turn 1 for the 1st of the 80 laps.
Will Brown helped Rylan Gray into the sandtrap at turn 6 and was later issued a 15 second time penalty.
Rylan Gray had a front spoiler full of sand and a track full of cars in front of him. He was not going to make any headway so took his pit stop early on lap 5. It also avoided the possibility of a double stack later with his teammate Brodie Kostecki. Kostecki was up the front in 4th place.
Broc Feeney still had the lead with Cameron Waters and Matt Payne behind him.
Chaz Mostert who started 12th on the grid took 7th place off Aaron Cameron.
It took a while, but Matt Payne finally overtook Cameron Waters for 2nd position. He still had to make up 1.8+ seconds if he wanted to catch the leader, Broc Feeney.
The pit stop cycle started on lap 15 with Jack le Brocq.
Brodie Kostecki had kept his place behind the 3 front runners. He wanted a podium finish. On lap 37 he did the fastest lap of the race, 55.404 seconds.
After Broc Feeney took his pit stop Kai Allen was left in the number 1 spot followed by Matt Payne and Cameron Waters. Feeney rejoined in 2nd place but was 6.7 seconds behind the leader.
Once Kai Allen took his first mandatory pit stop, Broc Feeney was back in control of the race.
Ryan Wood who wasn’t able to start the race yet, had to concede and received an NC (Not Complete).
As they worked their way through the middle laps of the race the leaders began to spread out. Broc Feeney maintained a lead of roughly 3 seconds over Matt Payne. Brodie Kostecki was 1.5 seconds behind in third place.
Towards the end of the race the leaders were forced to take their 2nd mandatory pit stops. Afterwards, the gap had closed significantly between Broc Feeney and Matt Payne.
Matt Payne stayed on Feeney’s tail. He was running out of time if he wanted the lead. He took the first opportunity and managed to overtake Broc Feeney. Feeney was now doing the chasing as they flew around the track at top speed, bumper to bumper.
They were well ahead of the others, so it boiled down to a duel between the two drivers.
They drove perfectly but at no stage did Matt Payne give Broc Feeney an opportunity to pass.
In the last few laps Feeney seemed to recognise an attempt would put him at risk and lose a podium finish.
In the end Matt Payne crossed the finish line with a 1.280 second lead on Broc Feeney. It was 11+ seconds later before Anton de Pasquale took third place.
Race 25 results:
1st Matt Payne – Grove Racing
2nd Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing
3rd Anton de Pasquale – Team 18
With 2 out of 3 race wins Matt Payne now leads the championship by 118 points over Broc Feeney.
The Century Batteries Ipswich Super 440 on 21 – 23 August 2026 will be the final and deciding event of the Sprint Cup. The points are relatively close so it will be exciting to see who comes out on top.