Woody was in sublime qualifying form, taking provisional pole in qualifying and converting to top spot on the grid in the shootout, setting himself up beautifully for Sandown’s opening race on Saturday with Mostert alongside him on the front row.
It was his third career pole and second pole position from the last three races, captured with a comfortable 0.163-second margin over his teammate and a decisive 0.276-second gap over the rest of the field.
With Ryan already out of championship contention thanks to a heartbreaking bout of unreliability on the Gold Coast, the sophomore played the role of ultimate wingman to help Mostert secure a berth to the sport’s first ever four-car title showdown in Adelaide.
He got the perfect start from pole and deftly let his teammate slot into the lead while holding back the field at the first turn, and together the two Walkinshaw Andretti United Mustang drivers were able to break away.
Woody was first into the pit lane, on lap 19, which had the effect of undercutting his teammate. Mostert, however, was quicker in the second stint thanks to his fresher tyres; Ryan handed back the lead with no trouble.
But it wasn’t until the third stint of the race that Woody’s value as a teammate really shone through. Will Brown was rapid after the second stops and bore down on the leading cars. Woody played a perfect defensive game to keep the defending champion at bay, buying Mostert time to open a gap at the front.
But the time Brown broke through the New Zealand Minister for Defence’s fortifications, Mostert was uncatchable, with victory securing him a place in the Adelaide Grand Final.
Woody came home third on the podium in a standout performance, the trophy just rewards for an outstanding team-oriented performance.
Ryan was in sparkling qualifying form again on Sunday and took second on the provisional grid, but rain lashed the suburban Melbourne circuit during the shootout, skewing the competitive picture. With Sandown ranked as the most slippery Supercars circuit when wet, he did well to qualify fourth despite deteriorating track conditions,
The race started dry, but the skies were dark with rain, and by lap 6 the heavens began to open. From fourth on the road after a strong start, Woody dived into pit lane to be among the first to switch to wet tyres.
It should have seen him seize an advantage for the rest of the race, but instead a stripped wheel nut damaged the spindle while changing the front-left wheel. It took the team seven laps to make repairs, instantly ending any hopes of a follow-up podium.
He rejoined the race to collect points in the exclusive battle for eighth in the championship, per the new finals system, but could finish no higher than 23rd in Sunday’s race in yet another case of heartbreaking late-season unreliability for the Kiwi.
