Murphy-inspired Wood finds big positive after 2024 disaster

A year ago, Ryan Wood was preparing for his second Supercars round with zero points to his name.

At the 2024 season opener in Bathurst, the then Walkinshaw Andretti United rookie was taken out on lap 1 on both days, and recorded a double DNF.

Fast forward 12 months, and while he wasn't jumping for joy over his Sydney results, Wood had a platform to build off at the Grand Prix, where the season resumes on March 13-16.

Wood finished 11th, 20th and 14th in Sydney, leaving Sydney 14th overall. While it was a positional drop on paper, given he qualified seventh twice and 12th, the Kiwi was pleased to bury his 2024 demons.

The Wellington-born driver had a 8.67 qualifying average for the weekend, up from his 2024 average of 12.71.

Wood also put reigning champion Will Brown to the sword in a spirited battle in Race 1, before his Saturday efforts were undone by a pit stop infringement penalty.

“A bit of an up and down weekend for us in quali with two P7s and a P12 today, not the greatest of weekends in the races either," Wood said.

“Plenty of homework to do, not sure what I’m doing with my starts so we will definitely look through the data to get that right for the next one.

“At the end of the day you’ve got to take some positives out of it, we have ended up well off compared to the first-round last year! A better starting platform and bring on the AGP."

Wood arrived in Sydney having trimmed 15 kilograms in the off-season, a decision the New Zealander took on himself.

However, the 21-year-old has had none other than four-time Bathurst winner Greg Murphy in his ear.

“It’s fair to say the team is super excited. The drivers are well prepared. I don’t know if you’ve seen, but Ryan Wood looks like his younger brother right now,” WAU CEO Bruce Stewart said in Sydney.

“That’s been an amazing thing for the team because to see a super talented young driver like that go away and then come back so well prepared — everyone is a foot taller and it’s a credit to Ryan and it’s great for the team."

On Wood's weight loss, Stewart said: “I’ve got to be quite frank, it’s been off his own bat... Ryan has a mentor in New Zealand, a really strong-willed character called Greg Murphy.

“The guy, we’ll call him Murph, doesn’t take fools easily so he was quite direct in his feedback.

“It’s great for Woody to have someone like Murph there because they are so strong together.

“And I’ve got to give a shoutout to Greg and all of his family who have supported back in New Zealand because he came back from New Zealand and we were like ‘Wow!’

“It’s so good, it’s such a huge culture jab in the arm, it’s great.”