Victory at Bathurst is a bucket list item for racers around the world, and it’s one New Zealander Ryan Wood can now cross off after claiming round honours in the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge.
The series, racing in support of the Supercheap Auto Bathurst International, followed a similar trend to the four previous rounds, Wood forced to slug it out with Australian Thomas Sargent over the three races.
Qualifying has been a strong point for the Team Porsche New Zealand driver all season, and Friday was no exception with an incredible 2min 07.9652sec pipping the series leading Sargent by a massive .94sec.
It’s now five from five for the TAG Heuer pole award for Wood with only one round left to run.
Friday’s Race 1 saw the Australian get the better start off the front row and never look back in a lights-to-flag victory.
A late Safety Car intervention in the 10-lap sprint did bring the field back together and create a one lap sprint for the line, however Sargent was too strong and took the victory.
In the first of two races on Saturday it was Sargent again who led until Wood was able to make a move stick at The Chase in early proceedings. The Kiwi defended superbly to cross the line first.
The final race saw the same result, albeit much more comfortable for Wood, two and a half seconds the difference.
“It was another great race, had a good start this time which made my life a bit easier,” Wood said after his round win.
“I’m still bit annoyed with myself after race 1, but I learnt a lot yesterday in those conditions, so we punch on to Phillip Island and hopefully carry this form.
“It’s been a huge season between me and Tom (Sargent), its been great for the fans, so we’ll see what we can do at Phillip Island. I think the championship is a little bit far away for us now, but we’ll just try to keep winning races and see what happens.”
In taking the round Wood now moves closer to Sargent on the overall table, however a DNF from a broken fuel pump at The Bend sees the youngster needing some luck on his side should he wish to take the series.
The final round of the 2022 Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge takes place at Phillip Island as apart of the Island Magic event on November 25-26.
Header Image: Porsche Newsroom
