Matt Payne
New Zealand racing driver (born 2002)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Matthew Allen "Matt" Payne (born 3 October 2002) is a New Zealand racing driver from Auckland, New Zealand.[1] He is currently competing in the Supercars Championship with Grove Racing, driving the No. 19 Ford Mustang GT.[2] He won the 2025 Bathurst 1000 with Garth Tander.
New Zealander3 October 2002
| Matt Payne | |
|---|---|
Matt Payne at the Adelaide Street Circuit in 2025 | |
| Nationality | New Zealander |
| Born | Matthew Allen Payne 3 October 2002 Auckland, New Zealand |
| Supercars Championship career | |
| Debut season | 2022 |
| Current team | Grove Racing |
| Racing licence |  FIA Silver (until 2023) FIA Gold (2024–) |
| Car number | 19 |
| Starts | 79 |
| Wins | 7 |
| Podiums | 19 |
| Poles | 4 |
| Best finish | 5th in 2025 |
| Previous series | |
| 2021 2021 | Toyota Racing Series Porsche Carrera Cup Australia |
| Championship titles | |
| 2021 | Toyota Racing Series |
Racing career
Toyota Racing Series
After turning heads with his karting success, Payne tested the FT-50 (older spec TRS) and impressed immediately with confirmation coming in December 2020 that Payne would contest the full three round 2021 Toyota Racing Series for M2 Motorsport.[3]
The 2021 New Zealand Grand Prix was the opening round of the season and was held at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park, due to the COVID-19 pandemic the series lacked international drivers. To compensate the event organizers called on experienced New Zealand racing drivers such as Shane Van Gisbergen, Greg Murphy & Andre Heimgartner to heighten the quantity and quality of the field.[4] Payne impressed in his open-wheel debut finishing third in all three races over the weekend including the NZGP. Payne went on to win five of the remaining six races, winning the 2021 Toyota Racing Series conformably over second placed Kaleb Ngatoa.[5]
Supercars career
Payne would debut in the Australian Supercars Championship in 2022 for Grove Racing, his debut race was the Bathurst 1000 co-driving with Lee Holdsworth where they finished the race in 6th place.
2025 was the breakout year for Payne, finishing 5th in the championship, but also winning 5 wins and prestigious trophies including the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy for accumulating the most point during the New Zealand round, winning Race 13 in Tasmania over by Broc Feeney by 0.0550 seconds, the third closest finish in Supercars, Bathurst 1000 & Enduro Cup along with Garth Tander and capping off with the Adelaide 500 at the end of the season.
Racing record
Karting career summary
| Season | Series | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | New Zealand Top Half Series - Cadet | 14th |
| 2011 | New Zealand Schools Nationals - Cadet | 9th |
| 43rd Blossom Festival - Cadet | 5th | |
| 2012 | New Zealand Top Half Series - Cadet | 13th |
| New Zealand Sprint Championship - Cadet | 1st | |
| New Zealand Schools Nationals - Cadet | 1st | |
| North Island Sprint Championship - 100cc Junior Restricted | 3rd | |
| Auckland City of Sails - Cadet Raket | 1st | |
| CIK Trophy of New Zealand - Cadet | 18th | |
| Auckland Regional Schools Championship - Cadet | 1st | |
| 2013 | New Zealand Top Half Series - Yamaha Junior | 11th |
| New Zealand Sprint Championship - 100cc Junior Restricted | 4th | |
| North Island Sprint Championship - 100cc Junior Restricted | 5th | |
| Auckland City of Sails - 100cc Junior Restricted | 2nd | |
| 2013 | North Island Sprint Championship - Rotax Junor | 6th |
| Auckland City of Sails - 100cc Junior Restricted | 2nd | |
| New Zealand Sprint Championship - 100cc Junior Restricted | 2nd | |
| 2014 | New Zealand Sprint Championship - Rotax Junor | 6th |
| 2016 | RMC New Zealand - Junor Max | 1st |
| 2018 | New Zealand Pro Kart Series - KZ2 | 4th |
| North Island Sprint Championship - Rotax Light | 2nd | |
| New Zealand Sprint Championship - Rotax Light | 8th | |
| Auckland City of Sails - KZ2 | 2nd | |
| 2019 | CIK Trophy of New Zealand - KZ2 | 11th |
| New Zealand Sprint Championship - KZ2 | 1st | |
| FIA Karting International Super Cup - KZ2 | 34th | |
| Race of Stars - KZ2 | 3rd | |
| Australian Karting Championship - KZ2 | 10th | |
| 2020 | WSK Super Masters Series - KZ2 | 42nd |
| 25th South Gardia Winter Cup - KZ2 | 12th |
Circuit racing summary
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Toyota Racing Series | M2 Competition | 9 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 287 | 1st |
| Porsche Carrera Cup Australia | Earl Bamber Motorsport | 13 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 362 | 6th | |
| Super2 Series | Grove Racing | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 234 | 17th | |
| 2022 | Super2 Series | Grove Racing | 11 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 1209 | 3rd |
| Supercars Championship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 204 | 34th | ||
| 24H GT Series - GT3 | Earl Bamber Motorsport | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 24th | |
| European Le Mans Series - GTE | JMW Motorsport | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 15th | |
| GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup | Singha Racing Team TP 12[6] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | |
| EBM Grove Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2023 | Supercars Championship | Grove Racing | 28 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1487 | 14th |
| 2023-24 | Middle East Trophy - GT3 | EBM – Grove Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 2024 | Supercars Championship | Grove Racing | 24 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2019 | 6th |
| 24H Series - GT3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | ||
| 2025 | Supercars Championship | 33 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 4461 | 5th |
* Season still in progress
Complete Toyota Racing Series results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Complete New Zealand Grand Prix results
| Year | Team | Car | Qualifying | Main race |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | M2 Competition |
Tatuus FT-60 - Toyota | 4th | 3rd |
Complete Australian Carrera Cup Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position – 1 point awarded all races) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) (* signifies that driver lead feature race for at least one lap – 1 point awarded)
Super2 Series results
(key) (Race results only)
| Super2 Series results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Position | Points | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | Grove Racing | 10 | Nissan Altima L33 | BAT R1 |
BAT R2 |
TOW1 R3 |
TOW1 R4 |
TOW2 R5 |
TOW2 R6 |
SMP R7 16 |
SMP R8 C |
BAT R9 13 |
BAT R10 5 |
17th | 234 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | SMP R1 4 |
SMP R2 2 |
BAR R3 1 |
BAR R4 2 |
TOW R5 10 |
TOW R6 Ret |
SAN R7 19 |
SAN R8 1 |
BAT R9 3 |
BAT R10 C |
ADE R11 2 |
ADE R12 4 |
3rd | 1209 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Supercars Championship results
| Supercars results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | Position | Points | ||
| 2021 | Kelly Grove Racing | Ford Mustang S550 | BAT1 R1 |
BAT1 R2 |
SAN R3 |
SAN R4 |
SAN R5 |
SYM R6 |
SYM R7 |
SYM R8 |
BEN R9 |
BEN R10 |
BEN R11 |
HID R12 |
HID R13 |
HID R14 |
TOW1 R15 |
TOW1 R16 |
TOW2 R17 |
TOW2 R18 |
TOW2 R19 |
SMP1 R20 |
SMP1 R21 |
SMP1 R22 |
SMP2 R23 |
SMP2 R24 |
SMP2 R25 |
SMP3 R26 |
SMP3 R27 |
SMP3 R28 |
SMP4 R29 PO |
SMP4 R30 PO |
BAT2 R31 |
NC | 0 | |||||||||
| 2022 | Grove Racing | Ford Mustang S550 | SMP R1 |
SMP R2 |
SYM R3 |
SYM R4 |
SYM R5 |
MEL R6 |
MEL R7 |
MEL R8 |
MEL R9 |
BAR R10 |
BAR R11 |
BAR R12 |
WIN R13 |
WIN R14 |
WIN R15 |
HID R16 |
HID R17 |
HID R18 |
TOW R19 |
TOW R20 |
BEN R21 |
BEN R22 |
BEN R23 |
SAN R24 PO |
SAN R25 PO |
SAN R26 |
PUK R27 |
PUK R28 |
PUK R29 |
BAT R30 6 |
SUR R31 |
SUR R32 |
ADE R33 |
ADE R34 |
34th | 204 | ||||||
| 2023 | Grove Racing | Ford Mustang S650 | NEW R1 12 |
NEW R2 14 |
MEL R3 13 |
MEL R4 17 |
MEL R5 21 |
MEL R6 12 |
BAR R7 6 |
BAR R8 9 |
BAR R9 18 |
SYM R10 15 |
SYM R11 15 |
SYM R12 21 |
HID R13 19 |
HID R14 23 |
HID R15 25 |
TOW R16 15 |
TOW R17 18 |
SMP R18 24 |
SMP R19 23 |
BEN R20 7 |
BEN R21 6 |
BEN R22 18 |
SAN R23 6 |
BAT R24 11 |
SUR R25 9 |
SUR R26 4 |
ADE R27 23 |
ADE R28 1 |
14th | 1673 | ||||||||||||
| 2024 | Grove Racing | Ford Mustang S650 | BAT1 R1 10 |
BAT1 R2 7 |
MEL R3 3 |
MEL R4 3 |
MEL R5 Ret |
MEL R6 14 |
TAU R7 13 |
TAU R8 4 |
BAR R9 8 |
BAR R10 9 |
HID R11 15 |
HID R12 20 |
TOW R13 4 |
TOW R14 1 |
SMP R15 2 |
SMP R16 4 |
SYM R17 17 |
SYM R18 21 |
SAN R19 4 |
BAT R20 Ret |
SUR R21 4 |
SUR R22 9 |
ADE R23 4 |
ADE R24 23 |
6th | 2019 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2025 | Grove Racing | Ford Mustang S650 | SYD R1 4 |
SYD R2 5 |
SYD R3 6 |
MEL R4 9 |
MEL R5 11 |
MEL R6 10 |
MEL R7 C |
TAU R8 1 |
TAU R9 4 |
TAU R10 1 |
SYM R11 15 |
SYM R12 7 |
SYM R13 1 |
BAR R14 6 |
BAR R15 5 |
BAR R16 2 |
HID R17 3 |
HID R18 8 |
HID R19 3 |
TOW R20 4 |
TOW R21 3 |
TOW R22 5 |
QLD R23 12 |
QLD R24 6 |
QLD R25 4 |
BEN R26 3 |
BAT R27 1 |
SUR R28 10 |
SUR R29 4 |
SAN R30 6 |
SAN R31 22 |
ADE R32 6 |
ADE R33 6 |
ADE R34 1 |
5th | 4461 | ||||||
| 2026 | Grove Racing | Ford Mustang S650 | SMP R1 4 |
SMP R2 3 |
SMP R3 2 |
MEL R4 2 |
MEL R5 2 |
MEL R6 Ret |
MEL R7 20 |
TAU R8 |
TAU R9 |
TAU R10 |
CHR R11 |
CHR R12 |
CHR R13 |
SYM R14 |
SYM R15 |
SYM R16 |
BAR R17 |
BAR R18 |
BAR R19 |
HID R20 |
HID R21 |
HID R22 |
TOW R23 |
TOW R24 |
TOW R25 |
QLD R26 |
QLD R27 |
QLD R28 |
BEN R28 |
BAT R30 |
SUR R31 |
SUR R32 |
SAN R33 |
SAN R34 |
ADE R35 |
ADE R36 |
ADE R37 |
2nd* | 259* | |||
Bathurst 1000 results
| Year | Team | Car | Co-driver | Position | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Grove Racing | Ford Mustang S550 |  Lee Holdsworth |
6th | 161 |
| 2023 | Grove Racing | Ford Mustang S650 |  Kévin Estre |
11th | 161 |
| 2024 | Grove Racing | Ford Mustang S650 | Garth Tander |
DNF | 130 |
| 2025 | Grove Racing | Ford Mustang S650 | Garth Tander |
1st | 161 |
Complete European Le Mans Series results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)