Wood switches to Supercars with WAU
By Thomas Miles
Date posted: 20 December 2022
Young kiwi Ryan Wood is the latest Porsche talent to switch to Supercars with Walkinshaw Andretti United announcing the 19-year-old will be one of its Super2 drivers in 2023.
Wood will join Zach Bates in the two-car WAU team which will field its two current Holden ZB Commodores and next year when it returns to the Dunlop Series for the first time since 2012.
Wood had been lined up to race in the Porsche Carrera Cup championship next year after receiving the Porsche New Zealand scholarship for 2023. However, 2023 will be the year he makes the switch to Supercars.
Wood admitted it was a challenging call to make between continuing to rise up the Porsche pyramid or chasing the Supercars dream to follow in the footsteps of Shane van Gisbergen and Scott McLaughlin.
“There’s no doubt it was a really tough decision to make the switch from Porsche New Zealand and Earl Bamber Motorsport, they’ve been amazing for me, and I can’t thank them enough for all that they’ve done,” said Wood.
“It’s been a dream of mine since I was a kid to race Supercars, so I’m really excited to chase that dream with Walkinshaw Andretti United and see what we can do together next year.”
Wood arrives at WAU in form after finishing second in the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge championship, which included a titanic battle with Thomas Sargent.
Ryan Wood has been racing at the front of the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia field, but will switch to Supercars next year.
Despite finishing second best, Wood demonstrated his express pace claiming six out of six pole positions throughout the year. He also scored four round wins including the season finale.
In 2021 Wood was also prolific, scoring the most race wins (seven) and pole positions (five) on his way to finishing third in the New Zealand Toyota 86 Championship.
Wood was working closely with Earl Bamber Motorsport in the Porsche scene and admits it will be a big jump switching from a one-make championship to the Supercars system.
“It’s going to be a big learning curve,” he said.
“But the team have already been amazing so far, so I can’t wait to get stuck into the season.”
Walkinshaw Andretti United Team Principal, Bruce Stewart, is delighted to have Wood joining the Team for his Super2 debut season.
“We have been following Ryan’s career closely for a while now and got the opportunity to see first-hand his talent at our recent driver evaluation day, where he more than impressed everyone there,” said Stewart.
“It wasn’t just the way he drove, but the way he interacts with the team around him, we think he’s a great fit for our culture here at WAU, which is really important to us.
“We think Ryan’s got a very bright future ahead of him, and are looking forward to seeing him alongside Zach, who we think we work really well together on and off the track.”
The 2023 Dunlop Super2 Series officially gets underway at the Newcastle 500 on March 10-12, but Wood will get his first full test day in February, where both WAU cars will start their season preparations on track.
For more of the latest motorsport news pick up the latest issue of AUTO ACTION.
AUTO ACTION, Australia’s independent voice of motorsport
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