P4 was all Chaz Mostert had today but it was a horror night on the other side of the garage for Ryan Wood after a clutch drama at the start and a pit lane penalty.

The morning started off with three part qualifying with both cars securing a ticket each to the Top 10 Shootout.

Ryan was up first out of the Walkinshaw Andretti United cars, putting the Mobil 1 Truck Assist Racing No. 2 on the line. With full focus setting purple sectors, he was up three tenths on the field until the right rear dropped into the dirt on the final corner costing two tenths, slotting Ryan P7 on the grid.

Chaz was up next, showing strong pace against the cars who had set their laps putting him to the top of the timing sheets, ultimately setting himself P3 on the grid after the remaining cars set their laps.

200km under lights at Sydney Motorsport Park, one of the best races on the calendar, the crew were ready to take on the challenge.

As the lights went out, Car 2 couldn’t get off the line due to a clutch issue, dropping Ryan to the rear of the field, luckily he was safe with all the cars behind him weaving past him, narrowly avoiding him.

The chaos continued on lap 8 laps after a car caught fire, calling the safety car onto the track, sending all cars into pit lane for a double stack, throwing strategy for the first stop out the window.

Things went from bad to worse for Ryan, being handed a pit lane penalty after an unsafe release during his pitstop.

Chaz pitted early alongside the leader taking the undercut strategy which paid off, coming out P3 after the final stop.

It would be a long race after that for Ryan, having top five pace the remainder of the race but not having anything to show for it being half a lap behind, hoping for a second safety car that never came.

Maximising everything he could out of the car, Chaz crossed the line P4. We will put our heads together overnight to get a little bit more out of the cars for the final qualifying and race tomorrow.

Ryan Wood

“It was a horror night after a pretty good quali, nothing went right, but I know everyone here has my back so I know we will bounce back again tomorrow.”

Chaz Mostert

“We gave it everything tonight, pretty much maximized what we had in the Mobil 1 Optus Racing No. 25, but that was all we had in race trim.

“Still, can’t be unhappy with fourth, but we’ve got a little bit to find to catch those guys on the podium tomorrow. We will put our heads together and come out swinging.”