October 13, 2025 • 9 mins
Matt Payne has become King of the Mountain in a wet weather shemozzle at the Bathurst 1000.
He has joined the high-octane New Zealand pantheon of Jim and Steven Richards, Greg Murphy, Shane van Gisbergen and Scott McLaughlin.
The 23-year-old and his co-driver Garth Tander climbed from 18th to take the title in minimal visibility, sneaking into the lead for the first time when James Golding and Cooper Murray collided with a couple of laps remaining.
Motorsport correspondent Eric Thompson joined Piney to discuss.
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sports Talk podcast with Dancy Wildergrave
from News Talk zed B.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Twenty three year old can We, Matt Payne and all
time legend Garth Tander have delivered Ford a win for
the Ages in an incident packed rein hit twenty twenty
five Bathurst one thousands.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
And the victory.
Speaker 4 (00:35):
Unbelievable outcome I thought.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Left one next believable races in that history of this
sport and a race dominated by wet weather in seven
safety car periods, the battle for the Peter Brock Trophy
boiled down to a stunning final run to the checkered flag.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
New Zealand Herald Motorsport writer Eric Thompson is with us
and watched it all unfold over the last few days
at Mount Panorama. Eric, in your analysis piece in the
Herald today, you write, I don't think there's an apt
one line description for what happened at Mount Panorama on Sunday.
For the first fifty odd laps, it looked like the
(01:16):
Great Race was going to be a rerun of the
twenty twenty four snooze Fest. But nothing could have been
further from the truth. Once the rain came, the Great
Race turned into the greatest ever race. It's wonderful writing
e T. Thanks for joining us. You've been watching motorsport
for a long long time. Have you ever seen anything
(01:38):
like that?
Speaker 4 (01:40):
No, I have not, Piny, And for the first time ever,
when I get back home, I'm going to skip the
first fifty laps and sit there and watch that race again,
because I swear to the Good Lord I missed it.
I'm there. It was just such an amazing, amazing race.
And you know, like we always look forward to seeing
(02:01):
the highlights of a crash on incident, well the highlights
we're almost becoming. Well, actually, did I see that? How
did I miss that one? And I'll tell you a
funny story, Pinty. At one stage, I was bucking for
a bathroom break and I stood up and a gentleman
in his next sitting next to me in the media
room said, oh God, if you go to the toilet,
(02:24):
you're going to miss something. I said, Unfortunately, I might
be suffering that old man affliction. Allegian listeners to work
that one out, but it literally was, you sit, there's
a busting point before you legged it off to the bathroom.
That's the sort of thing. And it wasn't just me.
There were people in that room that had been going
for many, many years, and it's the same thing. We
(02:46):
were hook line and sinkered to that race. It was amazing.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Another one of your lines here, I love You're right,
a race full of chaos, carnage and heartbreak. And I
want to get to Ryan Wood and his heartbreak in
just a second. But Matt Pain, how on earth is
that young head on those shoulders staying so calm and
the most treacherous of circumstances.
Speaker 4 (03:13):
Ah, can you imagine having Garf Canda in your corner? Yes, well,
good point five years and he was talking to Matt
the whole time, and you know, just as long as
the engineers. But there's one really interesting thinging. At one
stage when Goulding got pinged for that five second penalty,
(03:33):
the whole news room and anybody else is just yelling it, Matt,
don't just let him go. Just let him go. He's
got a five second penalty. And afterwards we wanted if
he knew he had the five second penalties and paints
you know, yeah, knew about that, but I couldn't let
him go. So it's just not me.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
How's that unbelievable. He's such a promising young driver, isn't he.
We've we've had some some beauties, haven't we. Around Mount Panorama.
We think of Greg Murphy, we think of Scotty McLaughlin
and Shane van Gisberg and many others. What might the
future hold for Matt Park having won Bath who said
such an early stage in his career.
Speaker 4 (04:10):
Oh, it just sets them up for something quite spectacular.
And also I know we'll touch on Ryan Wood a
little later, but from a New Zealand Motorsports the specter,
Van Gisburg and McLaughlin owned that Most Australian category and
the Mountain for a couple of years. Well we've got
two more on the wings, I mean, and Ossie won
(04:31):
it last year for the first time in about five
or six years. Now we've got two young guns charges
at right at the very start of their career. So
we're going to own that place and that championship again.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Tiny Ryan Wood. Let's talk about Ryan Wood in the
heartbreak he he may well have won that race et
had his engine not failed him.
Speaker 4 (04:50):
Right, absolutely that that was a pretty much a general consensus.
He was so fast in that right, I mean, so fast,
and he survived a couple of restarts, so you know
he had you know, he had the you know he
had under control of the chasing path. Ryan Would did.
And that's even it's not more impressive than Maddie Payne,
(05:14):
because you know, just potentially Ryan Wood might have more potential.
I remember having a chat with Shane Bean Gisbergen before
he went off the NASCAR quite a few years ago,
and Ryan Wood was just in Super two and I said,
you know, where do you think of the kiwis you
know that that might make an impact like you did
in a championship And without a split second hesitation, he said,
(05:37):
Brian Would, He's got it naturally gifted and you know
without a mechanic. I mean, you need man and machine
to win that race. They both have to work in harmony.
And unfortunately those future and Jurny Racing cars, both sides
of the garage just yeah expired, shall we say?
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Then those creachorious conditions at and you had a close
up look at them. We were just watching on television
and once you looked, and so once you got the
camera inside the driver's car, so you're getting an idea
of what they are seeing and what they are seeing
is is basically nothing. The visibility is so poor at
speeds like that and having to make split second decisions,
(06:21):
split second you know, movements of the car, tiny little metronomic,
you know, moves of the steering wheel. How on earth
do those guys keep their call and keep control of
their cars?
Speaker 4 (06:34):
Well, first of all, it makes Formula one look like
a scale electrics things that you ration your garage. They
would have shut that down and send everybody home, but
not the superior. And you're right when the fog came
down across the top of the mountain skyline and diving
down into the dipper, I think Davy Reynolds put it precisely. Said,
I was just hanging on in there. I had no
(06:55):
idea where the car was. And he said, all you're
concentrating on is a flashing red light in front of you.
He said, he couldn't see a thing. So and they're
doing that at two hundred and sixty seven, you know,
to seventy kilimeters an hour across the top.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
It's hard enough on the motorway. It's hard enough on
the motorway et when you're doing about seventy just trying
to keep you just trying to get home, made trying.
Speaker 4 (07:18):
To get home, and also Matty Payne was saying they
were they had to remember where the rivers of water
were coming across the track to try and avoid them,
and Lee Holds were the Baily Reynolds Go driver said ah,
he said, I just wanted to pack up and go home.
He said, I've had a quote, he said, I've had
enough of this place.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
We spoke yesterday on the radio and I asked whether
Matt Paine was a chance from eighteenth and you said
something along the lines of anything as possible. I think
didn't yesterday just prove that in this race in particular,
anything is possible.
Speaker 4 (07:56):
Absolutely. I mean, we go back, think about eight or
nine years when Paul Gombrel and Chas Mostat won some
last place on the grid and that was weather impacted
race at all anywhere on that grid and the drivers
will know it. You cannot rule a single pairing out
of that race. And that's why once, to me, is
(08:17):
why it's called suck. Great race and we happen to
see and I'll stand by that in any court of
motorsport Twitter verse that that was the best race that
Mount Panorama has ever put on.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
You will not get an argument from me. Et. Thank
you so much for your contributions on the radio over
the weekend. You're wonderful writing, which I've just absolutely loved. Look,
you'd probably need to take a breath, mate, come back,
you know, skip the first fifty lapses, you say, watch
the rest and then watch it again. It's a race
for the ages, mate, Thanks as always for joining us
on ZB.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
Mate, and I also appreciated the opportunity to chat to
your party. It's been a pleasure.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
It's been great having you on ET. Travel safe, mate.
That's Eric Thompson from the New Zealand Herald. Read him
at NZ Herald dot co dot NZ. Some terrific in
race analysis and then his uh is analysis piece at
the end of it all. It's really really good stuff.
Insidherl dot cot on INZ. Great to have Eric Thompson
along tonight.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
For more from Sports Talk, listen live to News Talk
zed B from seven pm weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the Sports Talk podcast with Dancy Wildergrave
from News Talk zed B.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Twenty three year old can We, Matt Payne and all
time legend Garth Tander have delivered Ford a win for
the Ages in an incident packed rein hit twenty twenty
five Bathurst one thousands.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
And the victory.
Speaker 4 (00:35):
Unbelievable outcome I thought.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Left one next believable races in that history of this
sport and a race dominated by wet weather in seven
safety car periods, the battle for the Peter Brock Trophy
boiled down to a stunning final run to the checkered flag.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
New Zealand Herald Motorsport writer Eric Thompson is with us
and watched it all unfold over the last few days
at Mount Panorama. Eric, in your analysis piece in the
Herald today, you write, I don't think there's an apt
one line description for what happened at Mount Panorama on Sunday.
For the first fifty odd laps, it looked like the
(01:16):
Great Race was going to be a rerun of the
twenty twenty four snooze Fest. But nothing could have been
further from the truth. Once the rain came, the Great
Race turned into the greatest ever race. It's wonderful writing
e T. Thanks for joining us. You've been watching motorsport
for a long long time. Have you ever seen anything
(01:38):
like that?
Speaker 4 (01:40):
No, I have not, Piny, And for the first time ever,
when I get back home, I'm going to skip the
first fifty laps and sit there and watch that race again,
because I swear to the Good Lord I missed it.
I'm there. It was just such an amazing, amazing race.
And you know, like we always look forward to seeing
(02:01):
the highlights of a crash on incident, well the highlights
we're almost becoming. Well, actually, did I see that? How
did I miss that one? And I'll tell you a
funny story, Pinty. At one stage, I was bucking for
a bathroom break and I stood up and a gentleman
in his next sitting next to me in the media
room said, oh God, if you go to the toilet,
(02:24):
you're going to miss something. I said, Unfortunately, I might
be suffering that old man affliction. Allegian listeners to work
that one out, but it literally was, you sit, there's
a busting point before you legged it off to the bathroom.
That's the sort of thing. And it wasn't just me.
There were people in that room that had been going
for many, many years, and it's the same thing. We
(02:46):
were hook line and sinkered to that race. It was amazing.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Another one of your lines here, I love You're right,
a race full of chaos, carnage and heartbreak. And I
want to get to Ryan Wood and his heartbreak in
just a second. But Matt Pain, how on earth is
that young head on those shoulders staying so calm and
the most treacherous of circumstances.
Speaker 4 (03:13):
Ah, can you imagine having Garf Canda in your corner? Yes, well,
good point five years and he was talking to Matt
the whole time, and you know, just as long as
the engineers. But there's one really interesting thinging. At one
stage when Goulding got pinged for that five second penalty,
(03:33):
the whole news room and anybody else is just yelling it, Matt,
don't just let him go. Just let him go. He's
got a five second penalty. And afterwards we wanted if
he knew he had the five second penalties and paints
you know, yeah, knew about that, but I couldn't let
him go. So it's just not me.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
How's that unbelievable. He's such a promising young driver, isn't he.
We've we've had some some beauties, haven't we. Around Mount Panorama.
We think of Greg Murphy, we think of Scotty McLaughlin
and Shane van Gisberg and many others. What might the
future hold for Matt Park having won Bath who said
such an early stage in his career.
Speaker 4 (04:10):
Oh, it just sets them up for something quite spectacular.
And also I know we'll touch on Ryan Wood a
little later, but from a New Zealand Motorsports the specter,
Van Gisburg and McLaughlin owned that Most Australian category and
the Mountain for a couple of years. Well we've got
two more on the wings, I mean, and Ossie won
(04:31):
it last year for the first time in about five
or six years. Now we've got two young guns charges
at right at the very start of their career. So
we're going to own that place and that championship again.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Tiny Ryan Wood. Let's talk about Ryan Wood in the
heartbreak he he may well have won that race et
had his engine not failed him.
Speaker 4 (04:50):
Right, absolutely that that was a pretty much a general consensus.
He was so fast in that right, I mean, so fast,
and he survived a couple of restarts, so you know
he had you know, he had the you know he
had under control of the chasing path. Ryan Would did.
And that's even it's not more impressive than Maddie Payne,
(05:14):
because you know, just potentially Ryan Wood might have more potential.
I remember having a chat with Shane Bean Gisbergen before
he went off the NASCAR quite a few years ago,
and Ryan Wood was just in Super two and I said,
you know, where do you think of the kiwis you
know that that might make an impact like you did
in a championship And without a split second hesitation, he said,
(05:37):
Brian Would, He's got it naturally gifted and you know
without a mechanic. I mean, you need man and machine
to win that race. They both have to work in harmony.
And unfortunately those future and Jurny Racing cars, both sides
of the garage just yeah expired, shall we say?
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Then those creachorious conditions at and you had a close
up look at them. We were just watching on television
and once you looked, and so once you got the
camera inside the driver's car, so you're getting an idea
of what they are seeing and what they are seeing
is is basically nothing. The visibility is so poor at
speeds like that and having to make split second decisions,
(06:21):
split second you know, movements of the car, tiny little metronomic,
you know, moves of the steering wheel. How on earth
do those guys keep their call and keep control of
their cars?
Speaker 4 (06:34):
Well, first of all, it makes Formula one look like
a scale electrics things that you ration your garage. They
would have shut that down and send everybody home, but
not the superior. And you're right when the fog came
down across the top of the mountain skyline and diving
down into the dipper, I think Davy Reynolds put it precisely. Said,
I was just hanging on in there. I had no
(06:55):
idea where the car was. And he said, all you're
concentrating on is a flashing red light in front of you.
He said, he couldn't see a thing. So and they're
doing that at two hundred and sixty seven, you know,
to seventy kilimeters an hour across the top.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
It's hard enough on the motorway. It's hard enough on
the motorway et when you're doing about seventy just trying
to keep you just trying to get home, made trying.
Speaker 4 (07:18):
To get home, and also Matty Payne was saying they
were they had to remember where the rivers of water
were coming across the track to try and avoid them,
and Lee Holds were the Baily Reynolds Go driver said ah,
he said, I just wanted to pack up and go home.
He said, I've had a quote, he said, I've had
enough of this place.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
We spoke yesterday on the radio and I asked whether
Matt Paine was a chance from eighteenth and you said
something along the lines of anything as possible. I think
didn't yesterday just prove that in this race in particular,
anything is possible.
Speaker 4 (07:56):
Absolutely. I mean, we go back, think about eight or
nine years when Paul Gombrel and Chas Mostat won some
last place on the grid and that was weather impacted
race at all anywhere on that grid and the drivers
will know it. You cannot rule a single pairing out
of that race. And that's why once, to me, is
(08:17):
why it's called suck. Great race and we happen to
see and I'll stand by that in any court of
motorsport Twitter verse that that was the best race that
Mount Panorama has ever put on.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
You will not get an argument from me. Et. Thank
you so much for your contributions on the radio over
the weekend. You're wonderful writing, which I've just absolutely loved. Look,
you'd probably need to take a breath, mate, come back,
you know, skip the first fifty lapses, you say, watch
the rest and then watch it again. It's a race
for the ages, mate, Thanks as always for joining us
on ZB.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
Mate, and I also appreciated the opportunity to chat to
your party. It's been a pleasure.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
It's been great having you on ET. Travel safe, mate.
That's Eric Thompson from the New Zealand Herald. Read him
at NZ Herald dot co dot NZ. Some terrific in
race analysis and then his uh is analysis piece at
the end of it all. It's really really good stuff.
Insidherl dot cot on INZ. Great to have Eric Thompson
along tonight.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
For more from Sports Talk, listen live to News Talk
zed B from seven pm weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio.
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