Walkinshaw TWG, DJR crews pull off overnight miracles
Ryan Wood, Rylan Gray cars repaired after Friday morning crashes
Co-drivers back out on track for Practice 5 at 10:05am
A full field of 26 Supercars will roll out for Practice 5, with Walkinshaw TWG Racing and Dick Johnson Racing turning around overnight repairs.
The Ryan Wood/Jaxon Evans Toyota and Rylan Gray/Tony D’Alberto Ford sustained heavy damage in separate incidents in Practice 3.
Both cars were sidelined from Practice 4 and Boost Mobile Qualifying, and will start Sunday’s Repco Bathurst 1000 from the rear of the grid.
For Walkinshaw TWG Racing, it marked the first major repair of the new Toyota GR Supra, with Wood slamming the wall at Forrest’s Elbow.
The team made the early call to park the #2 Mobil 1 Truck Assist Supra from the remainder of Friday’s action to complete thorough repairs on the car, rather than risk rushing out Wood for qualifying.
The Toyota squad finished works on the car at midnight, some 13 hours after Wood crashed, with the balance of the damage on the front left and rear. Rival squad Tickford Racing chipped in with some steering rack spares.
It was a longer assignment for the Shell V-Power Racing Team following D’Alberto’s crash at The Dipper.
The team engaged veteran Triple Eight fabricator Jason Briggs to assist with the chassis repairs. The car ran up at approximately 1:00am to cheers in pit lane, with tools going down at approximately 2:00am.
The big efforts ensure the full field will be on track for Practice 5, which is for co-drivers only, from 10:05am AEDT.
