Craig Baird has apologised and retracted his “grub” comments about Ryan Wood after Motorsport Australia reprimanded him for crossing the line in his role as Supercars Driving Standards Advisor.
Baird, who has been the effective umpire of Supercars racing since 2017, said he was sorry for describing Wood as “a bit of a grub” in comments made to Code Sports while reflecting on Wood’s clash with Broc Feeney in last year’s Adelaide Grand Final. Wood was given a 15s penalty for the tangle, which happened at the same corner where Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill famously collided in the 1994 F1 title decider.
In a statement, Baird said: “I would like to formally apologise and retract my comments regarding Ryan Wood and the Walkinshaw TWG Racing Team.” He added: “It’s clear that these comments were unacceptable and outside the boundaries of my role.”
He said he had met with Motorsport Australia to make sure he understood what is acceptable going forward in public commentary of this kind. “I have met with Motorsport Australia to ensure I have a clear understanding moving forward regarding public commentary of this nature and understand that this is not acceptable from the Driving Standards Advisor,” he said.
Motorsport Australia apologised for Baird’s comments after the Tyrepower Tasmania Super440 and said media commentary relating to the DSA’s role is expressly prohibited under its terms of agreement. The governing body also said: “Craig has been reprimanded for his conduct and served a reminder of his contractual and policy obligations as the DSA.”
The episode lands in a sport that already knows how fiercely calls around stewarding can linger. Baird’s comments came as he weighed up the Wood-Feeney clash from Adelaide, a moment that remains a hot topic of debate because of where it happened and what was at stake in the title fight.
For now, the message from the governing body is clear: the person tasked with policing driving standards cannot publicly sound like a participant in the argument. The job depends on distance, and Baird has now been reminded of that in public.
