AFTER Ash Walsh was involved in a horror crash in this year’s Bathurst 12 Hour which saw him hospitalised, he urged officials to do something to improve safety across the top of Mount Panorama.
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He was not the only one.
Now, following investigations from the Confederation of Australia Motor Sport (CAMS) and Supercars, a measure designed to improve safety will be implemented for the 2019 edition of the Bathurst 12 Hour.
On top of having flag marshals posted across the circuit, entries will be fitted with an in-car warning system.
Such as system may have lessened the impact the incident at Mount Panorama had on Walsh in February.
More than 10 seconds after Walsh’s Audi R8 clipped the wall and was left stranded at the top of the Mount, he was hit by John Martin’s Mercedes-AMG GT3.
Given the poor line of sight between Sulman Park and McPhillamy Park and the speed at which Martin was travelling, he did not have time properly react and avoid Walsh’s Audi.
His Mercedes had gone through under full green conditions given a slight delay before the yellow flag was produced.
“Not sure what the answer is, but something needs to be done,” Walsh said after the incident.
Former Bathurst 12 Hour competitor Eric Bana called for “unmissable and instant lighting on both sides” of the track, while Warren Luff suggested “amber lights on top of the wall 20 metres apart right across the top of mountain. Any flag marshal point can trigger them to light the place up like a xmas tree.”
Others suggested an in-car system and that is what CAMS has opted for.
“We are fairly certain that we will have an in-car warning system for the 12 Hour next year, that we will be trialling for a possible roll out into other categories and race meetings,” CAMS operations manager Martin told Speedcafe.com.
“Just to be clear, we are not suggesting that we change or replace the flag marshal system that we currently have.
“The system we are looking at will work when a yellow flag is displayed it would automatically display [a warning] in the cockpit of the car for the drivers.”