A TRACK marshall who grappled with Mount Panorama restaurateur Theo Stamatopoulos as he sat on a tractor beside the track has testified Stamatopoulos threatened to drive onto the circuit with a V8 race imminent.
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During the second day of Stamatopoulos's hearing on charges of assaulting two track marshalls during the running of the October V8 1000 in 2001, Ross King of the Central Coast, told Bathurst Local Court Stamatopoulos struck him on the jaw with the back of his hand.
Stamatopoulos is defending two charges of common assault laid over the incident moments before the race was due to start on Sunday, October 7, 2001.
The court has already dismissed a charge that Stamatopoulos drove his tractor near concrete barriers in breach of the Mount Panorama Act.
Under cross examination by counsel for Stamatopoulos, Paul Brazier, Mr King conceded he could have been mistaken in thinking he was struck with a closed fist.
The other marshall, Anthony Thorn, also a CAMS volunteer, testified he was pushed and sustained a small cut to his thumb as he tried to reach past Stamatopoulos' legs to reach the tractor ignition key.
Full story in the Western Advocate.
