Wood dominates Sandown Dunlop Series opener

RYAN Wood took a dominant victory in the opening Dunlop Series race at Sandown.

The Walkinshaw Andretti United driver headed championship leader Zak Best by almost six seconds after the 40-minute race, with Wood’s teammate Zach Bates rounding out the podium.

Kai Allen and Zane Morse completed the top five, while a heartbreaking mechanical issue cost Super3 standout Cameron McLeod outright sixth on the final lap of the race.

Super2 debutant Aaron Cameron inherited the spot ahead of Cooper Murray, birthday boy Jay Hanson and Aaron Seton – who made it to the finish despite trailing smoke in the closing stages – while Jack Perkins rounded out the top 10.

Best made a screamer of a start from the third row to lead the field into Turn 1, only to run wide and allow Wood to reclaim the point into the Turn 2/3 switchback.

That was the last the field saw of the WAU youngster. Wood proceeded to walk away from the field at an impressive rate; his lead stood at two seconds by the end of the fifth lap and hit three seconds before the end of the eighth.

Best and Bates led the chasing pack, while front row-starter Aaron Love fended off the advances of Morse for fourth place.

The AIM Motorsport racer eventually nabbed the spot with a bold move at Dandenong Road Corner, making contact at the apex that sent Love off into the gravel.

Stewards assessed the move but ruled that no further action needed to be taken; Love returned to the track in 19^th and made up a handful of spots to 16^th by the finish.

Others to strike trouble included reigning Super3 champion Brad Vaughan, who fell to the tail of the field after bogging down on the line, then earnt a 15-second time penalty for spinning Super3 runner Ryan Gilroy amid his recovery.

Vaughan went on to cross the line alongside Perkins but dropped to 18^th once the penalty was applied.

Fellow Super2 rookie Callum Walker was also tapped into a spin mid-race while battling with Jett Johnson, who also earnt a 15-second time penalty for his trouble.

McLeod’s last-lap retirement elevated 12^th-placed Jobe Stewart to victory among the Super3 runners, ahead of 17^th-placed Mason Kelly and 20^th-placed Valentino Astuti.

The Dunlop Series runners will next hit the track at 9:15am AEST Sunday morning for qualifying to set the grid for their final race of the weekend.

Results: Race 1, Sandown Dunlop Series