The WAU crew during its salvage effort on Ryan Wood’s season. Image: WAU Instagram
The squad’s Bathurst 1000 could easily have been defined by heartbreak as both of its cars suffered mechanical issues while in contention for victory.
The first to hit trouble was Chaz Mostert, who rolled to a stop on Conrod Straight after the car dropped a cylinder with a valve issue, and then lost its power steering.
He and Fabian Coulthard’s day was done on the spot, a bitter blow in the moment softened by Mostert being well and truly locked into finals.
Attention then turned to the Ryan Wood/Jayden Ojeda entry which at times led the Great Race as Wood battled with James Golding in the torrential conditions.
That was until an issue with the crank position sensor hobbled his engine at a late restart, forcing Wood to forfeit second place and head to the pits.
At one point he was out of the car, helmet off, contemplating that both his Great Race and finals hopes had disappeared all at once.
But around him there was a frantic effort to get the car back into the race and get Wood the classified finish he needed to bank just enough points to keep his season alive.
That effort included pulling bits off Mostert’s stricken motor just in case they were needed, multiple power cycles on Wood’s motor and an agonising wait to see if they could even get to the offending connector that had filled with water and caused the failure.
When the car did finally fire up the roar from the garage was immense.
“What we saw today was the strength of a team that actually will just never, ever, ever give up,” WAU CEO Bruce Stewart told Speedcafe on the Sunday evening.
“When we realised the car was out there was a massive punch in the guts. But everyone just mucked in and we worked out the numbers that he could still qualify for the finals if we could get him back out there.
“There were several times it looked like it was gone. Our guys were just working on that car, relentlessly trying to find the problem and then work out how to fix it.
“And then when it fired to life, that was a rainbow in a shit day that and we were just like, far out. That roar, when it fired, it was like we’d won. Everyone knew what it meant. And there’s nothing like hope.
“So right now I feel like I’ve been on a roller coaster, because you’ve been punched in the guts, and then you’ve just seen how fucking awesome your team is at never, ever giving up. And that’s the stuff you just can’t buy.
“I reckon we’ve come out of it richer. I don’t know how to define it, but it’s pretty bloody special.
“I don’t want to speak in cliches, but far out, I’m just fucking overwhelmed by how that all ended up.”
The new-for-2025 finals series means that instead of a low-scoring Bathurst 1000 ruining its season, it heads to the Gold Coast with two cars every much in title contention.
Unsurprisingly Stewart is a fan of the new system – and feels an in-form Wood could be a “scary proposition” for the run home, which could add even more significance to that Bathurst 1000 salvage effort.
“I think it’s bloody marvellous,” said Stewart. “God bless what’s happened there. The entertainment is great, it’s breathed life into the whole championship.
“We are in the hunt. Obviously everyone knows the quality of Chaz and how good he is, he is an elite talent.
“And Woody has been amazing in showing his growth. He’s only 21. More importantly, he is a scary proposition for everyone in the finals, because the kid is super quick.
“He’s like Chaz. He’s mercurial and he’s a pied piper for our team and like Chaz he pulls his crew around him, and everyone wants to do anything for him.
“Chaz is the best driver I’ve ever seen at that, and he’s got his protege just absolutely doing the same thing. Just look at what we just saw. Wow.”