- AS IT HAPPENED - PHOTOS, VIDEO: Chaz Mostert involved in major crash
IT was supposed to be the day that the racing fraternity celebrated Jamie Whincup becoming the first man to drive into unknown territory in qualifying.
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Unfortunately, it will be remembered less fondly as two people were taken to hospital for treatment after a massive crash on one of the most terrifying parts of the circuit.
Reigning Bathurst 1000 champion Chaz Mostert was flown to Orange Base Hospital late in the afternoon after the incident which left him with a fractured left femur and fractured left wrist.
But, in truth, it could have been a lot worse.
As the afternoon qualifying session began, Mostert was on his first flying lap when he clipped a wall coming out of The Esses into The Dipper.
The contact forced him to smash into the opposite wall, and in turn he made even heavier contact again with the inside wall heading to Forrest’s Elbow.
It was miraculous that his FG/X Falcon didn’t flip.
He wasn’t the only person involved, either.
The sheer chaos of the crash saw the car make contact with a marshal’s station next to the track, knocking the roof off it and making contact with the marshals manning it.
V8 Supercars confirmed that seven officials were involved in the incident: four were not injured, two were treated at the circuit medical centre for minor injuries and one was taken to Orange hospital by ambulance in a stable condition.
An ambulance attended Mostert immediately, though he indicated within moments to his pit crew that he was conscious and aware of his surroundings.
The contact ripped a heap of pieces from Mostert’s car, and even if they were to find a replacement driver for tomorrow’s race, it looks almost certain that the car won’t make it to the line.
The scheduled 55-minute session was brought to a halt and later abandoned by race organisers.
Whincup had earlier sent Holden fans into raptures as he blew the record books apart with a lap of two minutes, 4.9097 seconds in the first qualifying session.
Scott Pye had already lowered the mark set only a day earlier by Fabian Coulthard, showing the strength of the Dick Johnson Team Penske Racing Falcon.
Whincup had been off the pace prior but showed that the Red Bull Racing Commodore was ready to rumble with his effort.
But by 4pm, it was all but forgotten.
“It’s not a place you expect to have a crash,” Paul Morris said, who co-drove with Mostert to win last year’s Bathurst 1000.
“At that point you’re flat, pulling gears and looking to turn into the right-hander at the Elbow.
“The car has run a little bit wide and he’s left his foot in it. I can guarantee you he’s not thinking about that corner, he’s looking at the next one.”
Mostert missed qualifying for his Bathurst debut in 2013 while his car was being repaired from a practice crash, before being excluded from last year’s session after passing under red flags.
“He’s just destined not to qualify for this race,” Prodrive Racing team principal Tim Edwards said.
“(But) he’s in good spirits. His comment to me was ‘good job we signed that contract a couple of months ago’.”
The driving fraternity was quick to offer their support.
“Thinking of you @chazmozzie, a reminder of how dangerous our sport can be. All the best mate,” Craig Lowndes posted.
“Terrible to watch that, hoping @chazmozzie and the marshals are ok,” Shane van Gisbergen wrote.
His ProDrive Racing stablemate Mark Winterbottom was to the point, but heartfelt.
“S**t day! Thinking of you little buddy.”