Walkinshaw TWG Racing going all in on race wins at Sandown
Chaz Mostert surged to fourth in points with Gold Coast win
Teammate Ryan Wood out of Finals, but still hunting wins
Walkinshaw TWG Racing duo Chaz Mostert and Ryan Wood have both vowed to put it all on the line for race wins at the upcoming Penrite Oil Sandown 500.
Mostert in particular starred at the opening leg of the Finals on the Gold Coast, surging into the title fight with a virtuoso wet weather performance in the Saturday race.
Having entered Finals in the danger zone in eighth, Mostert has clambered his way up to fourth in the standings. and is now above the cut-line ahead of the Semi Final.
However, don't expect Mostert to be taking a conservative approach from his position of relative safety, with a breakthrough in his Toyota GR Supra's race performance on the Gold Coast fuelling belief that he can defend his 2025 title.
“It’s great to be heading into Sandown in P4 in the standings after a strong weekend at the Gold Coast," said Mostert, who has won two of the last four races.
“We made really big strides with the race car last round and I’m excited to see how that translates to this weekend.
“As proven in the Gold Coast, win and you’re in is the mentality we need to be using this weekend, that’s definitely our goal.”
Wood, meanwhile, bowed out of Finals on the Gold Coast for the second consecutive season, with an orchestrated position swap between Mostert and Wood on Sunday nullified by late fuel stops for Jarrod Hughes and Cooper Murray.
Mostert was handed back his podium position when it became clear Wood wouldn't progress regardless of whether he finished ahead of his teammate or not, with many now expecting Wood to pick up his wingman role from the 2025 Finals Series.
Wood's defensive efforts to hold back a flying Will Brown in the Sandown opener last year secured Mostert his passage through to the Grand Final, however he has declared that his primary focus for the rest of 2026 is to go out and win races.
The young gun also noted the potential for Sandown's notoriously unpredictable weather to make an appearance across the weekend, with Friday and Saturday likely to be hit by rain as of time of publication.
“Although our fight for the championship this year is over, that doesn’t mean we stop fighting for the rest of the season, our goal now shifts to winning races," Wood said.
“We had an awesome car at Sandown last year so I’m looking forward to heading there again this year.
“It looks like Saturday is going to be a wet one, I’ll be doing some rain dancing in the lead up to make sure it stays wet.”
On-track action at Sandown commences with two practice sessions on Friday November 6.
