'I think I was polite': Brown, Wood recount epic late race Taupō duel

It's not often that a race won by 16 seconds will be remembered as a belter of a race, however Will Brown and Ryan Wood put on a show in the final two laps of the ITM Taupō Super 440 opener.

Whilst Brodie Kostecki romped away to claim his fourth win in the space of five races, all eyes were on the fight for second in the dying laps as Wood surged onto the back of Brown.

Despite a substantial pace advantage, the wily 2024 Supercars champion was able to fend off the Kiwi young gun, with the gap between the two less than half a second at the chequered flag.

Wood threw everything he could at the #888 Ford, attempting a bold move around the outside

The latest chapter of the simmering Triple Eight versus Walkinshaw TWG rivalry, this one was accompanied by smiles and ribbing post-race, with both Brown and Wood lapping up the almighty scrap.

"We've had a bit of fun with that team over this year and last year, so I thought, 'Nah he's not going to get past, I'm going to make it as hard as I can for him,'" said Brown post-race.

"To be honest it was good, hard racing. I just wanted to get a second as well and get a good result, so that was good fun. He jumped out and he was smiling, so he was good as well.

"I knew that if he got to my inside I was done, I had no rear left, so I was making sure he went to my outside and making sure he couldn't go around the outside in a very nice way. I think I was polite about it wasn't I?"

For Wood, any disappointment that came with missing out on second wasn't visible, as an adoring home crowd stood as one to applaud a sensational drver.

"That last stint is probably one of the best stints I've driven in my own race car, so really, really proud," said a beaming Wood.

"The home fans were cheering me on, so I was really, really enjoying it out there. Kudos to Browny for an awesome battle.

"I was sort of thinking we're either going to have a great battle, or we're both gonna end up off the track, which we nearly did a few times.

"We raced hard but pretty fair then, and it was really, really cool to battle him then and see how hard he was trying. For once I felt like the aggressor trying to come through, so it was really cool."

Making the battle all the more intriguing, the battle is set to reignite immediately later this afternoon, with the pair set to share the front row for the final race of the weekend, with Wood on pole.

"I could definitely feel it," Wood said of the crowd support.

"On the in-lap I didn't even win and they were all clapping and standing, so it was really special. Thanks to everyone, and we'll have a crack this afternoon."

Race 9 of the 2026 Repco Supercars Championship will begin at 3:30pm NZST/1:30pm AEST.