CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD CHANGES HANDS AS FORDS DOMINATE TOWNSVILLE

Last year’s bp Adelaide Grand Final event winner Matt Payne has taken the 2026 Repco Supercars Championship points lead at the Townsville 500. Three different Ford drivers claimed the three race wins in North Queensland – Payne, Cameron Waters and Brodie Kostecki – with the race for finals places heating up.

Waters held off Kostecki in a nailbiter in the opening race of the Townsville 500 on Friday, winning by just two-tenths of a second. Payne rounded out the podium, taking the championship lead off Broc Feeney with the latter down in 10^th place.

Payne extended his championship lead with a dominant victory in the Saturday race, winning by more than 10 seconds from Anton De Pasquale who climbed from 11^th to second place.

Kostecki rounded out the podium in third, with teammates Cam Waters and Thomas Randle rounding out the top five as Ford continued its red-hot form.

Kostecki returned to victory lane with a resounding win in Sunday’s final race, leading home Payne and Waters in a Ford podium sweep, while Chaz Mostert scored a weekend-best fourth for Toyota.

Payne leaves Townsville with a 92-point championship lead over Feeney with Fords filling the top five in the points standings – Payne, Feeney, Kostecki, Waters and Kai Allen. De Pasquale is the top Chevrolet driver in sixth place with Ryan Wood the leading Toyota in eighth place.

The championship now heads to Perth for the Perth Super 440 at the end of July, with just two rounds remaining in the Sprint Cup –Perth and Ipswich – before the Enduro Cup. The top 10 in the championship standings at the end of the Enduro Cup following the Bathurst 1000 will progress into the finals, with the four grand finalists who will battle it out for title glory in Adelaide being set following Sandown.

Get your 2026 bp Adelaide Grand Final (November 26 – 29) tickets HERE.