STAR of the future Ryan Wood has reacted to his first laps in a Gen3 Supercar.
Wood today took part in a Walkinshaw Andretti United driver evaluation day at Winton, steering one of the Ford team’s top-flight Mustangs.
It comes at a time when the young Kiwi is a central player in the Supercars silly season, having been linked to a 2024 seat at WAU or Team 18 despite having just three Super2 rounds under his belt.
“It was awesome to get behind the wheel of the Ford Mustang Gen3 car today,” said Wood.
“Certainly eye-opening at times, but the team were great, and it was a lot of fun to drive.
“The whole day was pretty cool, I learnt a heap, but now my focus is on Sandown and the back half of the Super2 season.
“I’m excited to see how both cars go up in Sydney next week, fingers crossed it’s a good weekend for the team.”
The outing followed a full test yesterday for WAU’s main game duo, Nick Percat and Chaz Mostert, and their respective co-drivers Fabian Coulthard and Lee Holdsworth.
“It was great to have Ryan behind the wheel of the Ford Mustang today,” said team principal Bruce Stewart.
“Providing the opportunity for young talent to drive a Gen3 Supercar is exactly what these days are for, so it’s great to see it come to fruition.
“Opportunities like this are the exact reason we’ve started the WAU Foundation Academy, not just for drivers but all staff members, so we are looking forward to working through possibilities with Zach (Bates, Wood’s Super2 teammate) as well.
“Today followed on from a positive test yesterday with Nick and Chaz, and Lee and Fabian got some valuable laps as well, so we’ve got plenty to go through back at Clayton before Sydney on the main game side of things.
“It’s awesome to give Ryan, and our young engineers and mechanics the chance to do a full day of running at Winton, but now our full focus is Sydney next week, and Ryan’s on Sandown.”
The Beaurepaires Sydney SuperNight (July 28-30) forms Round 7 of the 2023 Repco Supercars Championship.
