Wood on fire in sizzling Darwin Supercars practice
Ryan Wood has scorched the Supercars field to set the fastest time in the first practice session in Darwin.
The Walkinshaw Andretti United youngster outpaced nearest challenger Broc Feeney by more than two-tenths of a second in the Top End dry-season heat on Friday.
Wood set the best lap of one minute and 7.059 seconds, with championship-leader Feeney 0.265 seconds behind and Triple Eight teammate Will Brown another hundredth of a second behind him in third.
Drivers tested the limits of Hidden Valley's challenging 2.9km circuit, with several racers overshooting the long, loopy left-hander at turn one.
A patch of parched grass at the end of the turn was set alight after Brown ran his Camaro off towards the end of the session.
That's one for the Darwin bingo 🔥Follow along this weekend from our NEW Live Insights here 👉 https://t.co/FRW6wBRzMv#RepcoSC #Supercars pic.twitter.com/CSWVE2qVgD
— Supercars (@supercars) June 20, 2025
With temperatures expected to run into the 30s throughout the weekend - and up to 50C inside cars - drivers' endurance will be as much of a challenge as keeping their cars running.
Feeney was the first driver to run off on the first turn at the end of the 1.1km straight, but recovered to set a speedy lap time that had him at the top of the totem for most of the session.
The 22-year-old won the last two races in Perth and showed promising pace as he looks to extend his 72-point gap at the top of the leaderboard at the track he won two races at last year.
Teenage wildcard entrant Rylan Gray, Matt Stone Racing veteran Nick Percat and Tickford's Cam Waters also took excursions off the track on turn one, while Andre Heimgartner battled to hold onto control of his lively Camaro on several occasions.
Drivers will return for the final practice session at 2.55pm (ACST) on Friday, ahead of Saturday's back-to-back qualifying sessions.
Two 120km races will follow qualifying on Saturday, before the final 200km race of the weekend on Sunday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Mary Fowler shortlisted for PFA Player of the Year gong
Australian star Mary Fowler is on the six-person shortlist for the Professional Footballers' Association Women's Player of the Year award. Voted for by fellow professional players, Fowler was included, along with teammate Yui Hasegawa, following her most productive Women's Super League season to date for Manchester City. They are joined by Alessia Russo and Mariona Caldentey from European champions Arsenal, Erin Cuthbert from WSL champions Chelsea, and Manchester United goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce. Well deserved 👏Yui Hasegawa and Mary Fowler have been voted into the Top Six of the @PFA Players' Player of the Year award! 🏆 — Manchester City Women (@ManCityWomen) June 20, 2025 Also in the running for the PFA Young Player of the Year gong, 22-year-old Fowler picked up six goals and seven assists in the campaign, and her two goal involvements in four successive WSL matches set a competition record in February. Despite having her season cut short by injury in April, the Matildas star was the only City player to reach double figures in goals and assists in all competitions. Japan international midfielder Hasegawa - who won City's Player of the Season award - completed the most dribbles in the WSL across the campaign and was involved in more shot-ending sequences than any other player in her position. She also won possession more times than any other player in the top flight across the season. Russo scored eight times in Arsenal's European success and was joint top scorer in the WSL with 12 goals. Her teammate Caldentey managed nine goals and five assists in the WSL and added eight more in the Champions League. The winner will be announced at the PFA Awards ceremony in Manchester on August 19.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Sione Tuipulotu set to join exclusive Greenock Wanderers club with Lions start
A SCOTLAND rugby player with family ties to Greenock is set to join an exclusive club on Friday. Sione Tuipulotu has been named in the starting line-up for the British and Irish Lions' match against Argentina in Dublin - with the squad looking to say farewell on a high note before boarding the plane for their tour of Australia. Advertisement (Image: Andrew Milligan/ PA Wire) He is the first Greenock Wanderers member to receive a Lions call-up in over 100 years, following in the footsteps of James Reid Kerr, who was chosen for the first-ever 'British Isles' tour to South Africa in 1910. Tuipulotu is one of four Scottish players chosen to face the Pumas for the 'Lions 1888 Cup' on Friday, with Pierre Schoeman and Duhan van der Merwe also in the starting XV and Tupulotu's Warriors team-mate Scott Cummings on the bench. Tuipulotu was born in Australia but qualifies for Scotland, and therefore for the Lions, through his Greenock-born grandmother, Jacqueline Thomson, who grew up a stone's throw from the Wanderers' Octavia Terrace home before emigrating 'down under' in the 1960s. Both Tuipulotu and his brother Mosese, also a Scotland international, were given honorary Wanderers life membership, along with Jacqueline, last year. Advertisement Though Reid Kerr was selected for that 1910 tour, injury meant he was unable to play - meaning that, barring any last-minute hitches, Friday night will see Tuipulotu become the first Greenock Wanderers member to play for the Lions. The Scotland captain previously revealed how emotional a moment it was to learn he'd made it into Farrell's squad after cruelly missing out on Scotland's Six Nations campaign earlier this year. He said: 'When I got hurt, that's all that came into my mind, is that I wouldn't be able to play for Scotland in the Six Nations when I'd just been named skipper, and it felt like I let the country down a little bit. 'Then you add in the fact that it was a Lions year, and I'll be blatantly honest, I thought it (Lions chance) was over for me. Advertisement 'It was a natural reaction to be so worried when you can't be out there influencing the situation. "Hearing your name, you get the relief and also the reassurance of what you've done already. Now it's just about coming back and proving I'm a better player than when I got hurt.' Kick off in Dublin is 8pm.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
‘Setting the tone': Joe Montemurro opts for mix of experience and potential with first Matildas squad
Alex Chidiac has been recalled into the Matildas squad to face Slovenia and Panama is a series of friendlies in Australia. Alex Chidiac has been recalled into the Matildas squad to face Slovenia and Panama is a series of friendlies in Australia. Photograph: Darren Pateman/AAP Joe Montemurro will use the start of his tenure to test the depth of Australian women's football, after the new Matildas coach announced an extended squad for four friendlies that lacks star power and is awash with fresh and fringe faces. Continuing the experimentation of interim coach Tom Sermanni, nearly half of the 33 players called up by Montemurro for the series against Slovenia and Panama have fewer than 10 caps. Advertisement Related: Matildas usher in new era after key interim role is filled perfectly by Tom Sermanni | Joey Lynch Notable absences include stand-in captain Steph Catley and forward powerhouse Caitlin Foord, who are taking personal leave. Tameka Yallop is out with injury, Katrina Gorry remains on leave and Sam Kerr's return to playing remains a mystery. Mary Fowler's extended absence also continues as she recovers from an ACL injury sustained during Manchester City's FA Women's Cup semi-final in April. Along with six uncapped players – including Young Matildas Grace Kuilamo and Adriana Taranto, who have received their first senior call-ups – Montemurro has brought back into the fold a handful of experienced Matildas who have been on the fringe in recent years. Advertisement Dynamic midfielder Alex Chidiac returns off the back of a successful A-League Women season with Melbourne Victory after which she received the Julie Dolan medal for best player in the league. Chidiac most recently stepped out in the green and gold for some token minutes during the 2023 Women's World Cup. Chloe Berryhill (nee Logarzo) and Emily Gielnik will also join the squad after returns to form and fitness. Berryhill's long-awaited return to the national team was cut short in December last year when she suffered a concussion in the 27th minute. Montemurro said the long international window allows him to lay the groundwork for the major tournaments on the horizon, chiefly the home 2026 Women's Asian Cup and the 2027 Women's World Cup in Brazil. 'This window is about setting the tone,' he said. 'We're laying the foundations for the next phase of our journey as we build relationships, create an understanding of our style of play, and enhance the high-performance environment that enables our players to thrive. Advertisement 'We wanted to use this window not just to prepare for the matches, but to really explore the talent that's coming through.' Holly McNamara, Jamilla Rankin, Natasha Prior, Bryleeh Henry, Winonah Heatley and Jessika Nash – all relatively new to the national set-up – will have another chance to shine with senior players out of the mix. One exception though is breakout star and debutant from the Argentina series Kahli Johnson who has been ruled out with an injury she picked up in the second match. Ellie Carpenter is back after taking a short break to get married, and goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold, midfielder Hayley Raso and forward Sharn Freier have all recovered from injury. The former Lyon and Arsenal coach said his selections represent a good balance of experience and potential. Advertisement 'Slovenia and Panama have been strategically scheduled to give us the right mix of conditions and opposition as we begin this phase,' he said. 'With the blend of players in this extended squad, these fixtures allow us to explore tactical ideas, build cohesion, and gradually shape the way we want to play moving into the next cycle.' Not all players in the extended squad will be available for both the Slovenia and Panama series. Matildas squad Mackenzie Arnold, Chloe Lincoln, Sally James, Teagan Micah, Jada Whyman; Alexia Apostolakis, Ellie Carpenter (vc), Charlotte Grant, Winonah Heatley, Clare Hunt, Alanna Kennedy, Jessika Nash, Courtney Nevin, Natasha Prior, Jamilla Rankin; Chloe Berryhill, Kyra Cooney-Cross, Alex Chidiac, Jacynta Galabadaarachchi, Alana Murphy, Amy Sayer, Adriana Taranto, Emily Van Egmond (vc), Clare Wheeler; Sharn Freier, Emily Gielnik, Bryleeh Henry, Michelle Heyman, Grace Kuilamu, Holly McNamara, Hayley Raso, Remy Siemsen, Kaitlyn Torpey
