Drivers disappointed by early Bathurst carnage

Five drivers out of Friday's race, four to crashes
Murray, Hanson crash out while in third position
Wood, Morse wiped out in opening lap drama

Ryan Wood, Zane Morse and Jay Hanson have all lamented good results going missing in the incident-packed Dunlop Series opener at Mount Panorama.

Aaron Love won the race, which ended under the control of the Safety Car after a crash for Cooper Murray.

Murray and Wood’s DNFs ensured Zak Best and Kai Allen are now the realistic remaining title combatants, with Best holding a 42-point lead heading into Saturday.

Murray surrenders third with Turn 2 crash

Wood and Allen collided at Turn 1, consigning the Walkinshaw Andretti United driver to his second DNF of the season.

“Got a good start finally, which was awesome,” Wood said.

“Was down the inside of Kai at Turn 1 and we just made wheel-to-wheel contact, unfortunately ended like this.

“We’ll punch on for tomorrow and see how we go. Obviously in this championship, it’s really hard to get consistent results.

“Unfortunately we had a DNF at the start of the year, and now again. It’s gonna make the championship hard, but we’ll have a crack and see where we end up."

As Wood slowed around Griffins Bend, Zane Morse was sent into the wall by Cameron McLeod, who managed to finish the race.

First lap: Drama for Wood, Morse as Best leads

Morse was out too: “I was just behind the other drivers, and we were tucked in on the inside.

“Unfortunately we just got sandwiched, and I was the unlucky victim.”

Later, Hanson crashed out of third across the top of the Mountain, surrendering a top three finish to Murray, whose late crash opened the door to Allen.

“It's upsetting, we had a fast car,” Hanson said.