Meet New Zealand’s Next Gen Supercars stars: Ryan Wood, Matthew McCutcheon, Andre Heimgartner and Matthew Payne
Reigning Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen has heralded a new age of Kiwi dominance, identifying the top racing prospects set to carry the torch for our trans-Tasman neighbours.
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Reigning Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen heralded a new age of New Zealand dominance, identifying the best racing prospects to carry the torch for the traditionally successful country.
Kiwi drivers have enjoyed a constant presence at the top end of the Championship tables for the past decade and beyond.
Names like Jim Richards and Scott McLaughlin are synonymous with New Zealand racing, and even Greg Murphy, Robbie Francivic and Paul Radisich can be considered icons of the sport.
Van Gisbergen said he keeps a close eye on young talent rising through the racing ranks in New Zealand, naming the best up-and-comers from the current crop.
“I focus on all the Kiwi guys coming through and there are some stars,” van Gisbergen said.
“Ryan Wood is doing really well in the Super2 series, he won the last round in Perth and he’ll be racing in Townsville.
“Matthew McCutcheon as well, he’s in the Super3 and is doing really good.”
Wood has taken the Super2 by storm in his rookie season in 2023, racing for the esteemed Walkinshaw Andretti United team.
So far Wood has two wins from four starts – both at the Perth event in April – but is sitting in sixth in the drivers championship after an eighth and an NC in his first two starts.
The 20-year-old Wellingtonian took all six pole positions in the 2022 Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge, converting four to race wins.
Wood was also a multiple kart champion in New Zealand growing up.
McCutcheon is another talented Kiwi driver hailing from Auckland, and he drives under the iconic No.97 – the same as van Gisbergen.
The 20-year-old has been described as a protege of van Gisbergen’s after conquering the dirt speedways across the ditch as a teenager.
A second overall finish in the 2020/21 Formula Ford season in New Zealand earned him the Tony Quinn Scholarship and a promotion to the Toyota 86 series, before a strong showing in his Toyota earned him a debut in the Supercars Super3.
Van Gisbergen went on to say that Supercars compatriots Matthew Payne, 20, and Andre Heimgartner, 27, would be forces in the main game for years to come.
“In the Supercars there are some young guys with Andre Heimgartner and Matthew Payne who are doing very well, so I think the future for the Kiwis is awesome and there’s some big talent coming through,” van Gisbergen said.
“I think we’ve dominated the last couple of years with myself and Scotty McLaughlin and then even before that was Greg Murphy and Jim Richards, so there’s always been a strong pedigree and group of Kiwi drivers. I think we’ve done pretty well for the last six or eight years.”
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Originally published as Meet New Zealand’s Next Gen Supercars stars: Ryan Wood, Matthew McCutcheon, Andre Heimgartner and Matthew Payne
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