Six biggest crashes of 2022
The 2022 Repco Supercars Championship was one of the most bruising in recent memory.
A record six races were red-flagged because of a crash — in Tasmania, Perth, Darwin, The Bend, Sandown and Gold Coast.
Drivers walked away unscathed from their various impacts — but the same could not be said for their cars.
Notably, one car was written off, with others consigned to heavy duty repairs.
Supercars.com looks back at the five biggest incidents of the year, presented in chronological order.
Scott Pye, Perth
It was a season to forget for Pye, who was involved in a number of accidents. However, his teeth-rattler in Perth — after a clash with Jack Le Brocq — required post-event repairs by Team 18 to his damaged chassis. Such was the impact, that the race was suspended due to repairs to a pit straight gate.
Multiple cars, Darwin
Pye was an innocent bystander in an early-race pile-up in Darwin after James Courtney was sent spinning through the infield. Courtney copped big damage through the infield after hitting a tyre barrier, before collecting Pye, Thomas Randle and Todd Hazelwood.
Thomas Randle and Andre Heimgartner, Tailem Bend
Randle’s unfortunate stall at The Bend — after a career-best qualifying — was perhaps the scariest incident of the season. Randle was left helpless after he stalled from second, with an unsighted Hemgartner collecting the Castrol Ford in a 38g impact. Randle was forced into a spare chassis, with Heimgartner’s car written off.
Will Brown, Pukekohe
This one nearly wrote off a chassis, with Brown’s Pukekohe impact clocked at 56g. The Erebus Commodore was shoved off the road by Mark Winterbottom and careened into the pit exit wall. It came just after Brown’s teammate Brodie Kostecki collided with Anton De Pasquale, who came off second-best.
Multiple cars, Bathurst
The 2022 Great Race was neutralised after an early clash on Mountain Straight. However, everyone got away unscathed — but it was a different story on lap 5. Zane Goddard clean-bowled Dale Wood and Matt Campbell after he botched an overtake on Greg Murphy at The Chase. Goddard ran through the infield and rejoined, but lost control and veered into the path of Wood and Campbell. All three cars were out on the spot.
Multiple cars, Gold Coast
Perhaps the most dramatic incident with regards to the number of cars involved came at Surfers Paradise. An unlucky James Golding was sent airborne after tripped over a tyre bundle. It triggered chaos, with several cars implicated. It also caused a track blockage, which quickly cleared. It left Golding, Nick Percat, Macauley Jones — whose car caught alight — Broc Feeney, Lee Holdsworth and Todd Hazelwood out on the spot.
The 2023 Repco Supercars Championship will commence in Newcastle next March.
Tickets are on sale on Supercars.com and Ticketek.com.
