Walkinshaw Toyota, DJR Ford in doubt for qualifying
Ryan Wood escapes 42g hit, Tony D’Alberto caught out
Qualifying commences at 4:10pm AEDT on Friday
The Supercars field is set to be slashed to 24 cars for Boost Mobile Qualifying, following incidents in Friday morning practice at Mount Panorama.
New Zealander Ryan Wood walked away from a 42g hit midway through the session, before Rylan Gray’s co-driver Tony D’Alberto found the wall at The Dipper.
Both cars sustained significant damage. They are in immediate doubt for Practice 4 at 1:15pm AEDT, followed by the all-important Boost Mobile Qualifying at 4:10pm.
Wood’s #2 Mobil 1 Truck Assist Supra copped major left-side damage, and caught air upon impact.
“Obviously sorry to the crew,” said Wood, who has yet to formally lock himself into the 2026 Finals.
"Last thing I wanted to do, but first crack on greens around here, you know what it's like.
“The boys will work pretty hard, and that's what I feel, just think about, is it's just given them so much work that they really didn't need.
“Kudos to our team. They do everything by the book, and to have a 42G impact like that and be able to walk away is pretty good.”
The Gray/D’Alberto car, meanwhile, has sustained significant front rail damage, prompting concerns it won’t make the start of qualifying.
“I had a big slide down the Dipper and spat me out,” D’Alberto radioed to his team.
After returning to the garage, D’Alberto told the broadcast: “I'm absolutely fine. No dramas at all.”
D’Alberto cited the dirty track conditions — which were a talking point on Thursday — as a factor in the accident.
"It actually wasn't that big a mistake,” two-time Bathurst podium finisher D’Alberto continued.
"It just had a bit of a slide going through The Dipper, and then when the car landed, it just sort of rebounded to the right-hand side, and that was all she wrote.
“Feel really bad for the guys. The car is nice and strong, and Rylan's doing a really good job today as well. He's really stepped it up. Yesterday was a bit tricky, but he sort of found a bit of rhythm.
“This sets us back a little bit, but unfortunately here, the smallest of mistakes just have the biggest consequences. And we've seen down the hill this weekend, lots of dust being dragged onto the track.
"You sort of come over each lap not exactly sure what you're gonna get, and unfortunately, that lap was a little slipperier than the previous lap.”
