New Zealander Ryan Wood recognises his Bathurst 1000 debut this weekend is “a dream come true”. The 20-year-old from Wellington is the only full-time competitor on the grid yet to start ‘The Great Race’ as a co-driver or primary driver.
Despite this, he is no stranger to Mt Panorama, having featured there in the Porsche Sprint Challenge, Super2, and this season’s Bathurst 500.
He won two races in the Sprint Challenge there in 2022 and was fourth in the second Super2 race last season.
He has, however, yet to complete a Supercars race there after failing to even complete a lap in the first two outings of 2024 following Lap 1 incidents.
The Bathurst 1000, however, is a different beast altogether.
“I have been dreaming about this weekend, driving in the Bathurst 1000, for as long as I can remember, so the entire weekend is going to be a dream come true,” said Wood.
“Really looking forward to starting the weekend off with track to town, it’s pretty special being able to take our cars out on the streets to hype up the weekend for the fans.
Long-serving Kiwi campaigner Fabian Coulthard will be by Wood’s side as his co-driver this weekend, looking to go one better than the second-place he achieved in 2022 with Chaz Mostert.
“It’s great to have Fabs alongside me this weekend,” Wood adds. “We’ve had so much fun together this year, he’s very experienced at Bathurst, I’ll be a sponge learning off him all weekend.”
Coulthard is competing in his 21st Bathurst 1000. He has featured in every iteration of The Great Race since 2004 and has achieved two podiums along the way. However, he has yet to step onto the top step.
“It feels like we have been waiting all year for this weekend, I’ve been counting down the days, I’m excited,” said Coulthard.
“The first time over the top of The Mountain always feels pretty sketchy, I’m usually so focused I forget to blink.
“Anything can happen at Bathurst, but we’ve done the work, the team have been amazing, so we are ready for whatever is ahead of us.”
Plenty is also on the line at Bathurst for Walkinshaw Andretti United, who sit third in the Teams’ Championship but only seven points behind Tickford. Red Bull is over 1000 points ahead of the pair.
While Wood is effectively out of Drivers’ Championship contention in 16th, his teammate Mostert sits only 189 points behind leader Will Brown ahead of the event.
The 32-year-old is a two-time winner of the Bathurst 1000 and will be joined by Lee Holdsworth in 2024. The two won together in 2021.
“It’s here, the holy grail, the weekend we look forward to all year, the Bathurst 1000!” said Mostert.
“It’s going to be a big weekend, to be competitive at Bathurst you need to minimise your mistakes, our focus this weekend will be doting every “i” and crossing every “t”.
“We are back on the hard tyre this year, we’ll be able to push harder in every stint and it’ll definitely make the racing a lot more of a sprint. Everyone has done an amazing job to get us here, so let’s see what we can do.”
Holdsworth adds, “Us co-drivers look forward to this weekend all year, there’s nothing like this place, and nothing like driving it.
“Chaz and I fell short of a podium last year which definitely hurt, it makes us even hungrier this year to come back stronger.
“The fans at Bathurst always turn up, they are so passionate, and I look forward to soaking in the atmosphere – I just love this weekend.”
Coverage of the 2024 Bathurst 1000 begins from Thursday, with ‘The Great Race’ beginning at 1.30 pm NZST on Sunday.
Thursday’s Creme Insurance Velocity New Motorsports Diary will have full information on track times and proceedings.
Header Image: Ryan Wood in action in the Bathurst 500. Image: Race Project (Supplied)
