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FWC: SUI vs BIH live on SN Extra'Knock him off': Wood eyes rival ahead of Triple Crown
Sebastian Tan, AAP • June 18th, 2026 3:29 pm
Ryan Wood will renew his rivalry with Broc Feeney when Supercars action resumes in the Top End | Photo: Dan Himbrechts/AAP
Rising star Ryan Wood isn't afraid to embrace becoming the Supercars "bad guy", as he looks to reignite his rivalry with Broc Feeney in Darwin.
Refreshed from a visit to Monaco to spectate the Formula One Grand Prix, Wood is gearing up to win his first race at the Hidden Valley Raceway in the Darwin Triple Crown beginning on Friday.
After an engine failure cruelled his chance for success at last year's meet, the Kiwi is hungry to avenge his performance and build on a historic victory in Taupo in April.
But for the 22-year-old to secure a win and boost himself up the competition's standings, he must topple rival Feeney, who swept all three races last year.
Broc Feeney sits atop the championship standings by 90 points after 16 races this season Photo: PR IMAGE
"People say our sport's boring when there's no rivalry and then when we have a rivalry they all complain," Wood told AAP.
"Someone's got to be the bad guy sometimes and I try not to be, but at the end of the day I go out there and be myself and race as hard as I can.
"He's (Feeney) obviously been the benchmark here the last couple of years, and we're going to do our best to knock him off his perch."
A spin out between the pair in last season's grand final ultimately ended Feeney's chances of claiming the Supercars title and sparked a dramatic fallout between the two since.
Wood is more focused on continuing Toyota's hot start to the season though, as he and Walkinshaw TWG teammate Chaz Mostert have enjoyed maiden race victories with the manufacturer in its debut season.
He is remaining optimistic that his Toyota Supra can deliver him another podium finish, but it won't be an easy task with temperatures set to soar above 30 degrees under the beaming sun.
"It's probably one of the hardest weekends of the calendar, just purely because it is hot," Wood said.
"Everything amplifies, so you're getting in the car hot, you're already warm, you're sweating, you're trying to manage all these different things.
"I've got a little bit of a chesty cough, so I'm trying to get rid of that overnight."
Kiwi driver Ryan Wood secures Toyota's first Supercars win | Sport Nation
For Wood to claim the Triple Crown, he will need to accumulate the most points over the weekend, which will also help him inch closer to a finals berth.
The 22-year-old will have one practice session to come to grips with the heat at 10.05am (local time) on Friday, before qualifying starts at 1.05pm.
The first race of the weekend - a 35-lap, 100km sprint - will get underway at 5pm.
