Cause of race-changing incident revealed
Engine failure for Cooper Murray led to crucial Safety Car
Murray missed out on top 10 chance with late engine failure
Safety Car triggered grandstand finish, late chaos in Perth
A seized engine was behind the DNF for Cooper Murray that changed the face of Sunday’s finale in Perth.
The Erebus Motorsport rookie was 14th before the final round of stops, but brought his #99 Vibe Chevrolet Camaro to a stop at Turn 6.
The Safety Car was deployed with 20 laps remaining as Murray’s car was retrieved, leading to big gains, a grandstand finish and a clash for the minor places.
Broc Feeney held off Matt Payne, who along with James Courtney, jumped up the order as the field cycled around with the speed limiter on.
Later, James Golding and Ryan Wood collided, leading to a penalty for the former and a DNF for the latter.
Speaking on Supercars’ Cool Down Lap podcast, Erebus CEO Barry Ryan said the engine in the #99 “seized,” ending Murray’s day abruptly.
“Something internal in the engine, we think, it just seized,” Ryan said.
"So he came outta the corner and the engine locked. It's let go now, but hopefully nothing too major, but it doesn't look nice."
“It was good to see him trucking along, looking just outside the top 10, which is a shame.”
The DNF was costly for Erebus, which dropped below Blanchard Racing Team to 12th and last of the full-time squads heading to Darwin.
Tickets for the June 20-22 event at Hidden Valley Raceway are on sale now.
