PODCAST: Wood shines in Perth

Walkinshaw Andretti United youngster Ryan Wood claimed his maiden Supercars victory at Perth’s Wanneroo Raceway last weekend, while his compatriot Grove Racing’s Matt Payne claimed second in the feature race on Sunday to hold on to his third place in the Championship chase.

In this week’s episode of Supercars Travel Race for the Championship, in the wake of Wood’s maiden win and Matt Payne sitting in third in the Championship, we ask the question of just why the Kiwi young guns are so good? Mark Fogarty, Allan Edwards and Bighair Nev also put the microscope on James Warburton’s master plan for a stand-alone Asian Supercars series, and we give our views on how to shake up the television commentary team.

The Walkinshaw Andretti United boys started their weekend at Perth’s Wanneroo Raceway on fire, bouncing back from a poor showing in Tasmania, with Chaz Mostert taking the pole for race one, and teammate Wood taking pole for race two. Wood recorded his maiden Supercars race win in race one, and was set to sweep Saturday, before a rear suspension failure put him out of contention.

“It’s pretty emotional to be honest,” Wood told FoxSport’s Jess Yates after claiming the victory.

“My parents have sacrificed a lot for me to get here… to achieve my lifetime dream it just doesn’t seem real. I’m so stoked for the whole team and kudos to all of our partners; (thanks to) the engineering group for coaxing me through that race… I just can’t believe it.”

Wood also credited Kiwi Supercars legend Greg Murphy, who has been mentoring his young countryman.

“It’s pretty amazing to have Murphy here and the things he does for me behind the scenes,” Wood said.

“I can’t speak highly enough of him. I know everyone thinks he’s a hard taskmaster, and he is, but that is what has kept me focussed and got me to this result.

“I just want to thank the Walkinshaw family and Bruce (Stewart) for putting their faith in me. It just means so much to me.”

Meanwhile, incoming Supercars CEO James Warburton detailed radical plans for a separate Asian series, utilising the Gen3 platform. The plan, if successful, would launch in 2027, and would complement a proposed 14 round local calendar, with a separate fleet of Gen3 Supercars being based in Asia, with race formats and locations still being determined.

Warburton also confirmed that the new TV deal with FoxSports and Channel 7 is effectively done, with only contracts to be signed. It is believed the deal will structurally be the same as the current deal, with the same split of free-to-air races, whilst crucially also continuing in-house production.