The quirk to Skaife's favourite moment of the season

Supercars legend Mark Skaife has labelled Matt Payne's daring double overtake in Sydney the "best pass of the year," despite the New Zealander admitting he didn't know he had picked off two drivers.

Penrite Racing driver Payne, who finished sixth in his second season in the Repco Supercars Championship, made headlines at the Sydney round in July after a brave two-for-one pass at the 200km/h Turn 1 sweeper.

In a heart-stopping moment early in the Sunday race, Payne caught and passed Nick Percat and Ryan Wood in one fell swoop at the fast left-hander.

Five-time Supercars champion Skaife hailed the move the best of the season, saying: "I love overtaking, I love the way they go about it, there's been some really great manoeuvres this year.

"My highlight was what I call 'the best pass of the year', was Matt Payne. The end of the main straight at Sydney Motorsport Park, and he rounds up two other guys.

"It was a manoeuvre that was very, very brave. You're going very fast, 265km/h, and the young bloke, that was a ripper move."

Speaking after the race, Payne said he feared an "airplane crash" in the overtake attempt, which saw the then 21-year-old fire down the inside.

"I was a bit surprised with how good the run I had going down the straight,” Payne told Supercars.com.

"I think Woody and Percat were side-drafting each other, and it actually slowed them up so much on the straight that I just got so much momentum.

"I just saw the closing speed was so much and I thought, 'I'm gonna be able to clear Percat by the time I get into Turn 1’. I didn't realise Woody was gonna be so brave and just bowl around the outside.

"He said he didn't even know I was there, he actually touched my right front and he had a bit of a moment. It was probably the most intense move I've ever had in a race car. It was butt-clenching stuff."

Garth Tander, who raced with Payne at Sandown and Bathurst, confirmed that Payne indeed didn't know he'd rounded up two in one go, adding: "I asked him after the race, he didn't realise he'd passed two cars.

"The fact that he did it, without even knowing he'd done it, was a very Matt Payne thing to do.

"We understand the physics of what's required at throwing a Supercar at Turn 1 at Sydney Motorsport Park. You have to be able to have a fair level of confidence in your own ability to be able to do that."

Payne will be joined by rookie Kai Allen for the 2025 season, which will commence in Sydney on February 21-23. Tickets for the event are on sale now.