New Zealander Ryan Wood has driven to a superb Race 1 victory of the Dunlop Series at the Perth SuperSprint.
It was a drive from the top shelf from the Walkinshaw Andretti United, overcoming a slow start to put in two passes Shane van Gisbergen himself would be proud of to take the race lead before pulling clear.
Polesitter Zak Best was the early leader, with Brad Vaughan also starting well from third and overtaking the Kiwi into Turn 1. Wood was able to slot into third, holding on to the leaders for the first few laps.
A Safety Car after 7 minutes saw the field brought together, the race resuming with 26 minutes left on the clock. Wood immediately went to work when the track went green, putting in a clinical dive up the inside of Vaughan to take second at Turn 1.
Wood continued to pressure Best over the following laps, picking off his man by going late on the brakes into Turn 7, leaving Best with no option but to relinquish his position.
From here Wood pulled clear, setting continuous purple sectors to build a gap over the trailing pack. Behind, Vaughan had also worked past Best but couldn’t match the flying Kiwi’s pace.
Even with lapped traffic coming into play, Wood held firm, delivering a race victory that will have the paddock talking for some time.
Vaughan drove well for second, with Best holding off a late Lochie Dalton charge for third.
Elsewhere, Matthew McCutcheon also performed well, starting among a fast group of cars to finish 20th overall, the same position he started in. He was fifth best of the Super3 competitors, behind winner Cameron McLeod, Jobe Stewart, Mason Kelly and Jett Johnson.
McCutcheon was right in among the midfield battles, continually pressuring Johnson ahead but unable to complete a move over the short seven-turn circuit.
The new 40-minute format definitely worked in favour of the class, allowing for 35 laps of run time, only of which seven minutes were under Safety Car conditions.
The Sunlop Series returns for Race 2 qualifying at 12.25 pm tomorrow, with the 40-minute Race 2 at 6.05 pm.
Header Image: Walkinshaw Andretti United
