Wood fastest, wildcards to the fore in enduro test
Ryan Wood fastest, wildcards to the fore in pre-enduro test
Wood kicks off Ryco Enduro Cup season with fastest time on Tuesday
Craig Lowndes/Zach Bates wildcard second at Queensland Raceway
Ryan Wood has stolen the headline moment from the Craig Lowndes/Zach Bates entry at the Ryco Enduro Cup Test Day, setting the fastest time at the death on Tuesday.
The wildcard Lowndes/Bates Triple Eight Race Engineering Chevrolet led the times for the balance of the afternoon session, before the Wood/Jayden Ojeda Mustang went fastest with 24 minutes remaining.
While Tuesday wasn't about lap times, it was another day for Walkinshaw Andretti United's rising star atop the time sheets of a Supercars session.
It was still an impressive showing by the three wildcard entries, with Lowndes/Bates second, Cameron Crick/Aaron Seton (Matt Stone Racing) sixth, and Rylan Gray/Lochie Dalton (Tickford Racing) 11th.
The balance of the field was steered by co-drivers, but the afternoon session was suspended almost immediately after Harri Jones beached the #18 Cub Cadet Chevrolet in the Turn 6 gravel trap.
Mark Winterbottom hit the early running with a 1:09.7599s in Cam Waters' #6 Monster Energy Ford, followed by Tim Slade (1:09.7932s). James Courtney jumped to the top at the 42-minute mark with a 1:09.4533s, before Lowndes moved clear with a 1:09.1598s.
In Chaz Mostert's Mobil 1 Optus Mustang, Fabian Coulthard held second with a 1:09.3796s ahead of Courtney, Gray (1:09.4505s) and Jamie Whincup (1:09.5329s), before Will Brown took over from Scott Pye and shot to second with a 1:09.3685s.
Nearing the halfway mark, Richie Stanaway put his #62 PremiAir Racing Chevrolet into second with a 1:09.3269s. Just minutes later, Mostert split the two Camaros with a 1:09.3044s, while Dalton (1:09.3335s) and Courtney (1:09.3560s) moved into the top six.
Whincup moved the #88 Red Bull Camaro to third through two hours and 15 minutes with a 1:09.3143s, and improved to a 1:09.3053s before handing over to Feeney. Andre Heimgartner then logged a 1:09.2532s to move to second, just 0.0934s behind the #888.
Morning fast man Broc Feeney quickly improved to second with a 1:09.2469s, drawing within 0.09s, before saving a big slide through Turns 1 and 2. He returned and marched on to set a 1:09.2210s, but was still 0.0612s behind Lowndes.
Heimgartner kicked off the final 40 minutes with a 1:09.1696s to go 0.0098s behind Lowndes. With 24 minutes to go, Wood powered to P1 with a 1:08.8415s, with De Pasquale (1:09.3052s) and Seton (1:09.2813s) improving. In the closing stages, Brodie Kostecki moved the #38 Shell V-Power Ford to fifth with a 1:09.2344s.
Cameron Hill put his #4 MSR Camaro in the Turn 3 gravel to end the day, solidifying Wood as the fast man.
The Aaron Cameron/Zak Best entry recorded the most laps in the afternoon session with 105, with Feeney/Whincup clocking 101.
Meanwhile, the Bryce Fullwood/Brad Vaughan car, which recorded the most laps in the morning, logged the fewest laps in the afternoon with 30. The #14 Camaro remained in the garage for the final two and a half hours of the day.
The 2025 Repco Supercars Championship shifts to Enduro Cup mode at the AirTouch 500 at The Bend on September 12-14, followed by the Repco Bathurst 1000 on October 9-12. Tickets are on sale now.
