Supercars Thrill: Ford and Chevrolet Split Wins at Wanneroo

Ford and Chevrolet split the opening wins at the Supercars round at Wanneroo Raceway, just outside Perth, Western Australia. Ryan Wood captured his first career Supercars victory on Saturday, driving a Walkinshaw Andretti United Ford Mustang GT.

Wood started the race behind teammate Chaz Mostert, who took pole. After ten laps, Wood managed to pass Mostert and then faced pressure from the two Triple Eight Racing drivers.

Broc Feeney tried to use a pit strategy to get ahead, while Will Brown made a later stop for four tyres, compared to the two that Wood took. Despite these challenges, 21-year-old Wood kept his lead and crossed the line ahead of Brown and Mostert to secure his maiden win in the series.

It marked an important moment for the New Zealander, who showed composure under pressure in his first season at this level. The second race of the weekend looked promising for Wood as well.

Although he didn’t keep the lead off the start, he quickly moved past Cam Waters and Matt Payne, both racing Fords, and started building a gap at the front. However, with about half the race left, Wood’s hopes of sweeping the event ended abruptly.

A suspension failure in the left-rear of his car, which occurred while braking for Turn 6, forced him to retire. This allowed Broc Feeney to move to the front in the Chevrolet Camaro.

Feeney and Brown, who had started from eighth, took advantage of strong pit stops to outpace the rest of the field over the remaining laps. Mostert worked his way up from eleventh on the grid to finish third.

Waters took fourth place after holding off Payne in the closing stages, with Tickford Racing’s Thomas Randle crossing fifth. Feeney called the victory hard-earned, noting how the race was physically and mentally demanding for the drivers as they all pushed their cars to the edge.

He finished 1.576 seconds ahead, earning his fourth win of the season and stretching out his points lead. After this round, Feeney remains at the top of the championship standings with 1,036 points.

Brown holds second at 1,009 points, with Payne third at 929. Waters sits close behind in fourth at 919, while Mostert follows at 785 and Brodie Kostecki rounds out the top six at 702.

The event saw all cars running on the Dunlop Super Soft control tyres for the first time at Wanneroo’s 2.41-kilometre circuit. Many drivers mentioned that the tyre left extra rubber on track, making it harder to move off the normal racing line and turning much of the course into a single-lane challenge.

Officials plan to investigate Wood’s suspension issue, as another Chevrolet—driven by Cooper Murray—experienced a similar problem late in the second race. Supercars action will continue on Sunday, beginning with a qualifying session at 11:00 am local time.

The Top Ten Shootout follows at 1:05 pm, leading into the main race of the weekend, an 83-lap battle set for 3:15 pm, this time on the Soft tyre.

Ryan Wood’s strong performance echoes the resilience seen in recent motorsports events, including analysis surrounding the ongoing Verstappen-Russell incident, which highlights the importance of strategy and composure.

Feeney’s physically and mentally demanding race can be likened to insights from the Lewis Hamilton Spanish GP verdict where driver endurance and tire management played crucial roles.

Daniel Miller

Daniel Miller reports on Formula 1 Grand Prix weekends with race-day analysis, team-radio highlights, and point-standings updates. He explains power-unit upgrades, aerodynamic developments, and driver rivalries in straightforward, SEO-friendly language for a global F1 audience.