The move that signalled 'built different' Wood’s intent
Ryan Wood attacked Cam Waters for the lead after bold move
Wood entered Townsville finale on the back of Saturday incident
Walkinshaw TWG Racing driver currently eighth in the points
Ryan Wood’s bold around-the-outside attack on Cam Waters has earned praise from Mark Winterbottom, who believes the move has clearly signaled the Kiwi’s intent.
Wood entered the NTI Townsville 500 finale needing a big points day to put breathing room back to the Finals bubble, after a clash with Kai Allen in the Saturday race.
The New Zealander starred to fourth in the Shootout, but after losing the start, rounded up eventual winner Brodie Kostecki around the outside into the Turn 2 braking zone.
Wood nearly picked off pole sitter Cam Waters, before challenging the Monster Energy Ford into Turn 3. Wood challenged Waters after the lap 1 Safety Car, before being picked off by Kostecki and ultimately finishing fifth.
Speaking on Supercars’ The Run Home podcast, 2015 Supercars champion Winterbottom was shocked by the move, but celebrated the #2 Mobil 1 Truck Assist Supra driver’s never-say-die strategy.
“Ryan Wood is built different,” Winterbottom said.
“To go around the outside, brake 20 metres deeper than the field, and the way he turned in… he almost got away with that, and almost led the race. Then he drove Cam Waters to the inside at Turn 3… that was my highlight."
Wood was on a run of 10 races without a podium heading into the Townsville finale, and hadn’t scored a top five finish since the penultimate Christchurch race.
The Kiwi is still in a position of relative safety in the top 10, sitting 140 points clear of the cut-line.
"Maybe you be conservative, you accumulate points [on Sunday],” Winterbottom continued.
“In qualifying, he went bang and did an incredible lap. The start of that race, the turn-in at Turn 2 he did on Cam Waters, from the outside...
“The intent he showed, the aggression and pressure that Ryan Wood put on Cam Waters in that first corner and first five laps, showed that Ryan Wood is not going to just accumulate points.
“That was one of my highlights of the race, watching Ryan Wood at work, pressuring Cam Waters for those first couple of laps, that was really, really tough.
“He’d look back, probably didn’t learn anything from the bump, and drove harder on Sunday. I thought that was really cool.”
Wood will resume his season on July 31-August 2 in Perth, where he claimed his maiden Supercars win.
