Wood bounces back to top second Taupo practice

It marked a bounce back for the #2 Ford Mustang after it suffered a steering failure in the closing minutes of Practice 1.

Wood credited his WAU race engineer Richard Harris for the surge in speed but said he still has time to find.

“The car feels really good,” said Wood.

“Rich has rolled something out that’s pretty solid at the moment. Kudos to them and the team. They’ve worked really hard but there’s still a lot of water to go under the bridge. I’ve done this a few times now where I’ve topped practice – one or two.

“For me, it’s just about keep learning, keep trying to find what the car needs, and keep digging into the data because there’s still a lot that I need to learn because there are a few sectors I’m behind. If we can piece it all together I think we’ll be all right.”

The second 30-minute practice session was punctuated by a series of off-road excursions for several drivers.

While Wood was quickest, his teammate Chaz Mostert suffered a bizarre slow-speed spin at Turn 7. Moments later, he understeered off the road at Turn 9 – all on an out-lap.

It was an all-Ford top three with Wood followed by Dick Johnson Racing’s Brodie Kostecki and Tickford Racing’s Thomas Randle.

Andre Heimgartner backed up his Practice 1 pace with fourth in Practice 2 to be the fastest Chevrolet Camaro.

The Brad Jones Racing driver was followed by Team 18’s Anton De Pasquale, who was second quickest in Practice 1.

Rounding out the top 10 was Mostert, Cameron Hill (Matt Stone Racing), Bryce Fullwood (Brad Jones Racing), Will Brown (Triple Eight Race Engineering), and Cameron Waters (Tickford Racing).

Like Practice 1, Feeney struggled with the handling of his #88 Chevrolet Camaro. He ran off the road at Turn 9 and wound up 11th at the end of the session.

Of the rookies, Kai Allen was the biggest improver. He ended up 14th for Grove Racing ahead of his teammate Matt Payne who was only 18th.

PremiAir Racing duo James Golding and Richie Stanaway stood atop the order late in the session but fell to 16th and 17th respectively by the end.

Results: Repco Supercars Championship ITM Taupo Super440, Taupo Motorsport Park