Bathurst 1000 2023 halfway report: James Moffat crashes out following big contact at The Dipper

Moffat's front right side of his Tickford Racing Mustang made heavy impact with the wall at the exit of The Dipper, leaving him to limp back to pit lane.

During his slow crawl back to the base of the circuit Moffat found himself stranded in the middle of the pit lane entry road when his car couldn't go any further.

After starting the race in fourth Moffat had been trying to get himself back among the pointy end of the field, where the #99 Erebus car and #97 Triple Eight entry had gained a break over the rest of the pack, but it wasn't to be.

For the full-time driver of the #6 Tickford entry, Cam Waters, it means his pursuit for a maiden Bathurst victory goes on for another year.

A dejected Waters said it was another moment that showed how quickly fortunes can turn around at Mount Panorama.

"It's what we do, isn't it? Bathurst is all about it. I've had some good experiences here and some bad ones," he said.

"He was doing an unbelievable job. He was hanging with Chaz [Mostert]. He's been great this enduro season

"He's either slipped on oil and hit the wall or he's just made a little mistake. He'll be pretty dirty on himself."

Moffat's incident was the third safety car of the race.

The first safety car was brought out just after the first hour of the race when the Grove Racing entry of Kevin Estre ran long at turn one and got stuck in the sand trap.

Safety car number two came out after Dale Wood took a bump from Scott Pye and got himself buried in the sand on the final turn.

Just past the halfway mark David Russell, co-driver of pole sitter and championship leader Brodie Kostecki, led the way in his Erebus Motorsport entry.

Richie Stanaway passed Tony D'Alberto to resume the Erebus vs Triple Eight battle that had been raging for much of the event.

Jaylyn Robotham and Garth Tander rounded out the top five.