Ryan Walkinshaw doesn’t think team tactics will work in the remaining Finals rounds. Image: Supplied
The first-ever Supercars Finals system is now underway with three drivers eliminated on the Gold Coast, leaving seven in contention for the title heading to Sandown.
The Walkinshaw Andretti United squad is in the thick of it, too, having lost Ryan Wood from contention, while Chaz Mostert stormed to near-title favouritism with two wins in Surfers Paradise.
That leaves WAU as the only team with one in and one out heading to Sandown, given both Triple Eight, both Grove Racing and both Tickford Racing cars are still in contention.
Feasibly that could be an advantage with all focus and efforts able to head to Mostert’s side of the garage.
When quizzed on the matter by Speedcafe, team co-owner Walkinshaw conceded that it did provide a straightforward approach.
At the same time he warned against the idea of getting too cute with intra-team strategy given what he predicts will be a “messy” mix of drivers in and out of contention fighting at the front.
“I wouldn’t call it strategic freedom, but there is definitely an element of being able to focus on one car and try and push that best set-up and best focus going into these next two rounds on Chaz,” Walkinshaw explained.
“There’s definitely a small advantage there. But if you asked me honestly, I’d still prefer to have both cars fighting into the semi-final and trying to get into the final.
“It’s going to be an interesting position, because you’re going to have guys who are getting more and more desperate, and other guys that have nothing to lose, and are going to try and fight for race wins and prove that they should have been in the Finals.
“I don’t think trying to play the intra-team strategy stuff is going to play out as well as some people have theorised. Because I think the next two rounds are going to be quite messy in a lot of different areas because there is a lot of emotion, and a lot of people trying to win, and a lot of people that have nothing to lose.”
Wood missing the semi-final cut was a sadly fitting end to a campaign that saw the young Kiwi luckless at key times.
Examples include a suspension failure in Perth when he was on track for a second-career victory, while he was well in contention to win the Bathurst 1000 until a crank position sensor failed.
It was only thanks to a last-gasp repair job that he could finish the Great Race and qualify for Finals at all.
Then on the Gold Coast he qualified on pole for Saturday’s race and was leading before a fuel leak intervened which left him needing a victory on Sunday to progress.
That never quite looked to be on the cards, his day made even harder by a cool suit failure.
Walkinshaw is confident that Wood won’t take much bouncing back from the Finals disappointment, though, and already sees him as a real threat to the title in 2026.
“The first thing he said on the radio [after Sunday’s race] was, ‘hell yeah, let’s go and do everything we can to get [Mostert] to win this championship’,” said Walkinshaw.
“That just shows you his mindset and his focus on being a team player.
“It’s hugely frustrating because we’ve seen so much pace out of the guy and he’s had an unbelievable amount of bad luck, some things within his control, some out of it.
“For him to not have managed to get some of the wins he probably should have had this year, and for him to not be going forward in the Finals, feels a bit like an injustice.
“But that’s also the point of the finals; you’re supposed to have some glorious glories and some heartbreak, unfortunately we’ve had heartbreak on one side of the garage and glorious glory on the other side.
“He’s going to do everything he can to try and win some trophies in the back end of the season and focus on next year, when I think we’ve all got a lot of belief he can give it a good crack next year.
“He’s shown he’s a worthy competitor in this category and has a bright future.”