National champion Ryan Wood setting his sights on further success

Ryan Wood’s tearing up the track both in New Zealand and overseas.

The Hutt International Boys’ School student and Wellington KartSport racer recently defended his National Vortex Mini ROK class Schools' title in Dunedin, was competing in Melbourne last weekend,  will be in Auckland this coming weekend and in October will be heading to Italy for the second consecutive year to represent New Zealand.  College Sport Media caught up with Ryan about his exciting life on and off the track.

You recently travelled to Melbourne to race over there – please tell us about that race meeting and who your competitors were?

We raced at the Melbourne State titles on the Todd Road circuit, which is a big fast flowing track, unlike anything we race on in NZ. There were 25 in the field from all over Australia, I was the only international driver in my class, and the calibre of drivers was extremely high, with several of my fellow competitors being multiple state and Australian championship title holders.

How did you go in Melbourne?

It was a challenging but rewarding experience, unfortunately we were unable to practice on the track, I was in a different kart chassis, running on a harder tyre compound and smaller tyre size than what we run in NZ so the kart handled differently to what I was used to, but with great support from Tony Kart Australia, dad, and my mechanics Tony Chambers and Maurice Frost, we were able to make gains all day. From 12th in the timed practice session we went on and qualified in 6th place, finished 6th, 5th and 1st in the heats. I started the pre-final on pole, the crew tried a few tweaks before the final but they did not pay off resulting in a 3rd place finish in the pre-final then coming home in the final with a third place finish.

Please explain how you got to go to Melbourne and what series or events have you been racing in locally and in New Zealand?

I won the Bayleys WPKA Goldstar series which is a regional series, and Supreme Kart Supplies in New Plymouth sponsored the prize of a drive in Australia.  In July I raced in Dunedin and successfully defended my National Schools’ title and this weekend I will be in Auckland competing in the Pro Kart series.

What class of Karting are you in and what are your goals?

I am currently in the Vortex Mini ROK class, my short term goal is to win the Pro Kart series title (which I am currently leading with two rounds to go).  In December I will move up to the Junior Rotax class, which is a considerable jump in horsepower and I can’t wait!  Medium term - I have been invited to compete in the Rotax challenge series in Australia next year and due to my National schools win I have the opportunity to represent NZ at the ROK Cup International final in Italy next October.

How did you get involved in karting and how old were you when you first started racing?

I loved going to the indoor go karts with Dad, one weekend we went to our local track at Kaitoke to watch a friend race and that was it I was hooked. I started when I was seven and have not looked back. 

 How much time does it take up; are you racing locally or nationally or training every weekend?

Because I am passionate and committed to karting, I am on a track most weekends, I also compete in an indoor karting league every second Wednesday  and then I have strength and general fitness training on top.

Do you or have you played other sports?

I have always been keen on anything sports orientated. I have played club rugby which I really enjoyed, but my passion is karting so it is hard to commit to a team sport at this time when I am away most weekends. 

How do you juggle school and your sport? Is there much overlap, or do you envisage there will be in the future?

It is hard to juggle at times, we try to limit days off, some times of the year are busier than others, like any sport when you are at the elite level there is a big time commitment required. HIBS have been really supportive and I am extremely thankful.

Are you the only HIBS student involved in your sport, or are there others? Do you have rival competitors in Wellington and nationally?

There are five students at HIBS that are also involved with karting, since I started karting I have raced with Ethan Donahue, and it has been good to move through the ranks with him and be able to share the successes and also the hard luck stories.