Walkinshaw Andretti United (WAU) has today confirmed that Ryan Wood has joined the Team for the 2023 Dunlop Super2 Championship.
Wood, 19, who hails from New Zealand, will make his Super2 debut in 2023 alongside recently announced teammate Zach Bates, as WAU return to the Super2 field for the first time since 2012.
Wood’s pathway to WAU has been created thanks to his time with Porsche New Zealand and Earl Bamber Motorsport, which he admits was difficult to leave.
“There’s no doubt it was a really tough decision to make the switch from Porsche New Zealand and Earl Bamber Motorsport, they’ve been amazing for me, and I can’t thank them enough for all that they’ve done,” said Wood.
“It’s been a dream of mine since I was a kid to race Supercars, so I’m really excited to chase that dream with Walkinshaw Andretti United and see what we can do together next year,” said Wood.
“It’s going to be a big learning curve, but the team have already been amazing so far, so I can’t wait to get stuck into the season.”
Wood joins WAU fresh off the back of a very successful 2022, which saw him finish second in the Porsche Sprint Challenge in Australia, claiming 6/6 pole positions, and 4/6 round wins. He also won the South Island Endurance Challenge.
In 2021, Wood claimed the most race wins (7) and the most pole positions (5) on his way to third in the New Zealand Toyota 86 Championship.
Walkinshaw Andretti United Team Principal, Bruce Stewart, is delighted to have Wood joining the Team for his Super2 debut season.
“We have been following Ryan’s career closely for a while now and got the opportunity to see first-hand his talent at our recent driver evaluation day, where he more than impressed everyone there,” said Stewart.
“It wasn’t just the way he drove, but the way he interacts with the team around him, we think he’s a great fit for our culture here at WAU, which is really important to us.
“We think Ryan’s got a very bright future ahead of him, and are looking forward to seeing him alongside Zach, who we think we work really well together on and off the track.”
The 2023 Dunlop Super2 Series officially gets underway at the Newcastle 500 on March 10-12, but Wood will get his first full test day in February, where both WAU cars will start their season preparations on track.