Round victory with pole position and two race wins was an ideal way for Ryan Wood to conclude his season but unfortunately not enough to see the Kiwi take the 2022 Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge at Island Magic today.
Needing to overcome a 32-point deficit on rival Thomas Sargent for the crown, the Kiwi needed fortune to go his way at the famed Phillip Island Circuit. Sargent could afford to finish second in every race and still take the title.
That’s what he did in the first and third races, the second, which Woods was also leading, being declared a non-event due to a Lap 2 crash.
As a result, Wood wins the round, and Sargent wins the trophy for the season.
The two have been inseparable on track all year, taking each and every race, bar one, between them. The speed and abilities of both have shown they’re both drivers of the future.
Whilst the Series victory for Sargent is well-deserved, it has to be said that Wood’s is also unlucky to miss out on the title, a fuel-pump issue at The Bend resulting in a DNF, which seriously hurt his championship ambitions.
Ultimately, that’s all the 2022 title fight came down to between two very talented drivers.
Since that DNF, however, Wood has been a man on a mission, performing under pressure with the aim of clawing back the gap. It was almost done, but just not enough by the narrowest of margins.
The future is bright for the two young drivers, Wood is confirmed to step up to the Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup with Team Porsche New Zealand and Earl Bamber Motorsport, whilst Sargent will move to the US to compete in Porsche Carrera Cup North America with McElrea Racing.
One thing is sure, Ryan Wood and Thomas Sargent are drivers to watch.
The weekend started well for Wood, qualifying on the pole for the sixth time this year, making it a clean sweep in qualifying with six fastest laps out of six.
Wood was pipped off the start in the first race by the series leader, who quickly built a lead heading into Turn 1.
Sargent could not build on this for long; a Lap 2 Safety Car was called for after a locked-up Tom Taplin made contact with the rear of Lachlan Bloxsom’s car, causing both to spin. Bloxsom managed to resume however, the intervention required after Taplin could not.
Sargent jumped at the restart, catching the Kiwi unaware to again quickly establish a gap. Once a rhythm came about Wood quickly began to make up ground, managing an overtake for the lead not long after.
He never looked back from here, establishing a gap of his own to take victory by nearly three seconds to keep his championship hopes well alive.
The other Kiwi in the race, Madeline Stewart, finished a respectable ninth.
The second race was declared a non-event; Wood’s title aspirations dealt a major blow after a Lap 2 crash between Sam Shahin and Daniel Stutterd at Turn 10, sending the latter into the barrier, which required extensive repair.
A Safety Car was called for, but the race red-flagged after just one lap of circulation, the damage too severe to be repaired in time for a restart.
Wood had been leading at the time ahead of Sargent.
The equation was set for the final race. Wood needed to win, with Sargent finishing fifth or lower.
Sargent got a great launch again, but Wood was prepared to answer, a second wind giving him the lead into Turn 1.
This time around, Wood didn’t pull away, instead backing up a train of cars in the strategic hope other rivals would pick off his title rival.
A black flag was shown to Wood, the Kiwi quickly getting the message and getting a move on to pull away from Sargent.
He cruised to the chequered flag to take the race, and round win, with Sargent coming home 3 seconds adrift of the flying Kiwi.
