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Matthieu payne
Matthew Payne will have his first glimpse of Supercars machines this month ahead of a possible ride to the 2022 Repco Supercars Championship.
Payne has recently emerged as a bold candidate to join David Reynolds at Grove Racing next year as incumbent Andre Heimgartner moves on to Brad Jones Racing.
For the first time publicly, team co-owner Stephen Grove told Speedcafe.com that this is indeed Plan A – with a plan to promote Main Game B in 2023 if it is determined that the young Kiwi needs more time.
The first step of the process will take place shortly, with Payne flying from the Gold Coast to Victoria to cut laps in an Altima.
“We’ll do an evaluation day at the end of September, for a few days probably, and then we’ll be looking to potentially put him in the Super2 Series for the rest of the year,†Grove told Speedcafe.com.
While extremely confident in Payne’s talent, this outing will allow Grove to “begin to formulate our direction†for their 2022 plans.
“From there we will know whether we will wait a year or not,” he added.
An impending indication is vital, as the soon-to-be-known Grove Racing team can hardly afford to wait too long in a busy driver market if it is decided that Plan B – apparently an interim solution – is necessary.
“Well look, we know who’s available and who’s out there and who isn’t – who signed and who we think signed and what we’re doing,†Grove said.
It is known that Payne, who is now signed to Grove Junior Academy, will need a Superlicence waiver if he is to compete in the main game next year, but the team are relaxed about that task.
Payne is on track to rack up the 13 points needed for a Superlicence thanks to his 2021 Castrol Toyota Racing Series title and his current position in the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia standings.
However, he will not have met at least one of the other mandatory criteria, such as competing in six rounds of the Super2 series, with no more than three to come this year, meaning a waiver would be required.
“He will have the points. There’s no question he’ll get the points, â€Grove said.
“I think you must have made six [Super2] Sleeves; he will have made three.
“I am reasonably confident. Look, dispensation is something that’s obviously a process that we have to go through, but we’re going to do an internal process.
“If we think he’s not ready, we’re just going to drop him for a year and do something else with him.
“We won’t be too concerned about the waiver because if we were to ask for it, in our minds we will be right, he will be good to go. If we think he’s not ready to go, we won’t look for him.
“I think it will be, but time will tell.”
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