Wood locked up by WAU
By Thomas Miles
Date posted: 14 August 2024
Kiwi rookie Ryan Wood will remain with Walkinshaw Andretti United for years to come after a new contract was signed on the eve of the Tasmania SuperSprint.
Wood, 20, has signed a “multi-year” to carry on racing the #2 Mustang for his only Supercars team.
The Wellington product currently sits 17th in the championship as the leading rookie with five top 10 results.
Wood’s highlight so far was Wanneroo, where he qualified on the front row and finished fourth on Saturday before backing it up with an eighth place.
With the speed and potential clear, WAU has backed Wood for the long term with the Kiwi to partner the established Chaz Mostert for years to come.
The youngster has loved his time at WAU since joining Super2 last year and can’t wait to continue on that journey.
“It’s so awesome to be able to extend with the team, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be, and it’s really nice to know it’s all locked away, and my focus can be on racing and developing,” Wood said.
“It was a pretty easy decision to be honest, from the moment I walked in here it felt like home,
and it’s a really cool feeling to have that same support and trust back from everyone here.
“The word family gets thrown around a lot, but it’s the perfect way to describe how we operate.
“I think we are building something special here at Walkinshaw Andretti United, and I’m really excited to see what we can do in the next few years together.
“I’m looking forward to repaying the faith everyone has shown me from the start.”
Wood jumped across the Tasman and raced with speed in the Porsche Sprint Challenge in 2022.
Despite a Porsche NZ backed drive being lined up, Wood leaped to WAU to chase the Supercars dream in 2023 and it paid off.
He burst onto the scene with a speedy Super2 campaign, taking the most race wins, poles and fastest laps, but two DNFs saw him finished third in the championship.
But that was enough for Wood to earn a promotion with WAU to replace Nick Percat.
Whilst fielding rookies is not something WAU/HRT has done in the 21st century, the team believes Wood is the next big thing.
“We are really excited to share the news that we’ve locked in our future with Ryan,” he said.
“It wasn’t a tough decision for any of us, we had another year left on Ryan’s existing contract, but we are extremely confident of the future we have together.
“There wasn’t any reason not to get it locked away as soon as possible.
“He’s already showed results far beyond his experience in his first six months in the category, sometimes we have to remind ourselves of just how young he is, and how early into his racing career he is.
“Not only is he an outstanding talent on track with an incredibly bright future, but he is fantastic for our team culturally as well – we love having him here.
“We can’t wait to see him alongside Chaz long into the future.”
Image: Peter Norton EPIC Sports Photography
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