Hot on the heels of Chaz Mostert pouring cold water on his Ruapuna rumble with Brodie Kostecki, teammate Ryan Wood has hinted at a breaking of bread with Broc Feeney.
Feeney has made no secret of his ill-feeling towards Wood since their clash on the opening lap of last year’s Adelaide Grand Final decider.
A mending of the ways appeared to begin in Christchurch when Feeney expressed empathy for Wood’s Jason Richards Trophy heartbreak.
Feeney said last week on MotorRacing 360 that he was unhappy they’d still not cleared the air and hinted at a potential catchup.
“I wouldn’t say we’re mates, but yeah, he just came up to me afterwards and said, ‘good job’,” Feeney said of their brief interaction in the aftermath of the Ruapuna finale.
“He wants to catch up and try and settle the dust.
“We haven’t spoken since then. To be honest, I’m not over the moon about that, I think a conversation probably should have been had.
“But obviously that’s not my loss.”
Wood was asked how he felt about those Feeney comments during a media call in Townsville on Tuesday.
“I’m not too worried about it,” he said. “What’s happened between us will stay between us now.”
Asked if he has any plans to apologise, Wood hinted at a conversation but would not divulge details
“I’ve sorted it out. We’ve sorted it out now,” he said.
“It’s between us. You can read into it as you will.”
As for what happens next?
“We’ll just go racing. We enjoy racing hard,” he said.
“That’s part of the championship at the moment, there’s a lot of rivalry and I think that’s what makes it exciting at the moment.
“I’m loving that part of it.”
The claimed mending of ways also follows comments from Wood’s mentor Greg Murphy on the eve of Christchurch that the situation should have been dealt with sooner.
Wood is known to have texted Feeney in the immediate aftermath of Adelaide but did not get a response.
“I don’t disagree with Broc in his reasons why he’s like this,” said Murphy ahead of the Ruapuna event.
“That moment needed to be dealt with very quickly after Adelaide finished. There needed to be a conversation, it needed to be dealt with, and it wasn’t dealt with.
“If I wasn’t on the other side of the world and if I’d have been there, I would’ve made sure it was dealt with, because it’s respectful.
“It would’ve been respectful, so I’ll be bluntly honest, it disappointed me that it didn’t get dealt with in a better way so they could move on, regardless of if there’s agreement or not.”
Murphy also noted that the simmering rivalry between the drivers and their respective powerhouse teams has been good for the sport.
The Kiwi’s famous beef with Marcos Ambrose in the early-to-mid-2000s was this week voted the greatest rivalry of the Supercars era.
“As far as rivalries go, bring it on,” he said.
“It’s great that they’ve got two teams like that who are operating really, really well at the moment, and they’re fighting hard.
“All of them are having to work incredibly hard to achieve, and that’s mega.”
Wood and Feeney will both be in action aboard Audi R8s in GT World Challenge Australia during this weekend’s SpeedSeries event at The Bend in South Australia.
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