Four cars wiped out of Bathurst 1000 running within first six laps following chaotic start to 2022 event

But what everyone got was more than they could have ever expected.

A pair of major incidents over the first six laps of the race saw four cars wiped completely out of the running and several others, including four-time Bathurst 1000 champion Jamie Whincup, tumble down the standings.

The race only made it through one corner before the water on the outside of the track at Mountain Straight played a role in the first incident of the day, which occurred towards the middle of the field.

Whincup contacted the water and briefly lost traction, which sent him into the back of Jack Perkins and led to both entries spinning out.

The rest of the field managed to avoid the wiped out duo except for the unfortunate Zak Best, who ran off the road to avoid the stationary cars but contacted the inside wall heavily.

Whincup and Perkins managed to get their cars going again but the same couldn't be said for Best.

That led to the first safety car of the day.

The race resumed on lap five but it was almost immediately brought back under safety car conditions when an even bigger incident unfolded at the chase.

Zane Goddard tried to make a move down the inside of Greg Murphy but ran deep into the grass, but it was his unsafe and uncontrolled entry back onto the circuit that would cause collisions.

Dale Wood had nowhere to go when Goddard's Mustang slid side-on onto the track and clipped the front of the #5 entry, briefly sending him airborne and into the concrete.

Matt Campbell then ploughed into Goddard's stranded car when he also was left with no space to avoid contact.

All three cars involved would not resume the race.

Sitting in the garage as he watched Goddard crash out, it was mixed emotions for Tickford's James Courtney.

He conceded his co-driver was "maybe a little bit too eager too early".

"It's disappointing because we all worked really, really hard," the experience 42-year-old said.

"I'm sure Zane didn't mean any of that, but that's the way it goes sometimes.

"You know we're here to go racing, crashes happen."

Whincup managed to thread the needle to narrowly avoid contact but others weren't so lucky.

Michael Caruso also found himself caught up in the incident when he was spun out while slowing down to avoid the Goddard entry stuck in the centre of the track.

For 2017 Bathurst 1000 winner David Reynolds, watching co-driver Campbell get taken out left him struggling to comprehend what had happened.

"I don't know what to say ... it was just one of those things," he said.

"I don't think Matt saw it coming, there's no fault on his behalf whatsoever. It was just a bit silly.

"I kind of half blame myself for putting him so far back in qualifying, I know our car is probably fast enough to be up the front, so I feel really bad for our crew and our sponsors and our team."

In contrast Brad Jones Racing driver Andre Heimgartner did not hide his frustration at having his race ended before he even got the chance to get behind the wheel.

It's the fourth time since he made his Bathurst 1000 debut in 2014 that he's been on the DNF list.

"It's like these people don't realise it's 161 laps and they're driving like absolute losers," he said.

"Hopefully they get their [sic] together and we don't have more safety cars and ruin more cars ... everyone puts in so much effort and then for everyone just to take everyone out like that and especially that last one, it's pretty wild.

"It's not what anyone needs and we're only on lap bloody four, so very disappointed."

For his co-driver Dale Wood it was heartbreak, crying and embracing his wife Jess after returning to the team garage.

He was still wiping teams from his eyes as he expressed his devastation.

"This whole build up is about this one moment, going racing. I felt like we had a very good opportunity with this team, with the people I'm with, it's all awesome.

"For it to be over so soon, it's gutting.

"This is what you wait for, this is what you work towards all year and to be over soon soon, I'm absolutely spewing."

Meanwhile, at the head of the field, Lee Holdsworth had managed to get the jump on pole-sitter James Moffat to take the lead on the first lap.

Moffat slipped down to fifth, Fabian Coulthard took second place while Warren Luff made an excellent start to jump up to third.

However, by the end of the opening hour Moffat had managed to work his way back up to second place.

Just as the opening hour was about the tick over the #53 entry, with Jake Kostecki at the wheel, couldn't escape the boggy grass at The Chase.

That brought out the third safety car of the day and also led to the entire field taking their first pit stop.

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