Kiwi Matt Payne has beaten the odds to snatch victory at the iconic Bathurst 1000 - the showpiece of the Australian Supercars championship - around Mount Panorama.

Payne languished in 18th position on the starting grid, but worked his way through the field to contest for the lead in a race marred by horrific wet conditions that claimed several contenders along the way.

Fellow Kiwi Ryan Wood was among them, limping to the pits with 20 laps remaining, after briefly poking his nose ahead.

Payne also spun off the track, as he challenged Cooper Murray for the lead, slipping back to third, but benefitted from a collision between Murray and James Golding to slip past into the lead.

Golding was assessed a five-second penalty for his part in the incident and, although he went ahead on the last lap, Payne managed to stay within the margin to win on corrected time.

"In the wet, when I got back in the car, it felt forever," he said. "Safety cars kept stalling our race.

"I saw Jimmy get into the side of Cooper and I kind of predicted that was going to happen. I managed to get through, but felt like I ran out of tyres at the end.

"A win's a win and we'll take it."

Veteran co-driver Garth Tander captured his sixth Bathurst crown - his two most recent came with Kiwi Shane van Gisbergen in 2020 and 2022.