Motorsport: Kiwis Richie Stanaway, Matt Payne, Andre Heimgartner climb Supercars rankings with home advantage at Taupō 400

While major spoils slipped through their grasps, Kiwi hopes Richie Stanaway, Matt Payne and Andrew Heimgartner have used home advantage to improve their standings in the 2024 Supercars championship.

None of them could claim Taupō 400 victory on Sunday, with Aussie Will Brown extending his lead atop the standings from teammate Broc Feeney in Race Eight, but all made moves within the top 10 overall.

Payne enjoyed pole position at the start and led early, but fell back through the field to finish fourth. A firm fan favourite entering the weekend, he failed to reach the podium, after 13th on Saturday, but now sits fifth in the championship.

"Not too bad a result today," he reflected. "I'll take it... it's good points, but probably not so good when you're starting from first.

"We probably didn't quite have the car today and struggled with the tyre life, but we'll get there. We're a work in progress and we're not giving up at all.

"It's very positive to have the speed in qualifying and put ourselves in a good position for the race."

More to come

While major spoils slipped through their grasps, Kiwi hopes Richie Stanaway, Matt Payne and Andrew Heimgartner have used home advantage to improve their standings in the 2024 Supercars championship.

None of them could claim Taupō 400 victory on Sunday, with Aussie Will Brown extending his lead atop the standings from teammate Broc Feeney in Race Eight, but all made moves within the top 10 overall.

Payne enjoyed pole position at the start and led early, but fell back through the field to finish fourth. A firm fan favourite entering the weekend, he failed to reach the podium, after 13th on Saturday, but now sits fifth in the championship.

"Not too bad a result today," he reflected. "I'll take it... it's good points, but probably not so good when you're starting from first.

"We probably didn't quite have the car today and struggled with the tyre life, but we'll get there. We're a work in progress and we're not giving up at all.

"It's very positive to have the speed in qualifying and put ourselves in a good position for the race."

More to come

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