Payne closing in on title

Matthew Payne is in pole position to clinch the Castrol Toyota Racing Series 2021 when the final round of the championship swings into action in mid-February.

The rookie driver is top of the drivers’ standings following the opening two rounds of the shortened series. 

He swept to victory in both races during the last round at Hampton Downs and took three third-place finishes in the opening New Zealand Grand Prix event a week earlier. 

The series will conclude when the action heads to Manfeild in Feilding over the weekend of February 12-14.

Payne, pictured, will hope to continue the form that delivered him the double in North Waikato.

His second win came despite some pre-race drama when mechanics were swarming over his car half an hour before the start when a change of gearbox oil was required. 

The team managed to complete their job on time and Payne was able to start from pole position.

“There were a few issues with the car before the race I was aware of and the boys were flat out fixing it, I can’t thank them enough, they did an awesome job and the car was flawless,” he says.

“I managed to get a good start and ran away with it and I just tried to push every lap. It’s going well and I cannot wait for Manfeild.”

Payne also led from lights to flag in the first race at Hampton Downs.

He tops the championship standings with 151 points and his closest rival is Kaleb Ngatoa, who clinched a fourth and second-place finish in the last round, on 125 points.