Team 18 chassis escapes major damage in big Bathurst hit
Team 18 chassis escapes major damage in big Bathurst hit
Anton De Pasquale/Harri Jones still alive in Bathurst after 56g practice smash
Supercars action resumes on Friday morning with Practice 3 at 10:05am
The #18 DEWALT Chevrolet is still set to be in the mix at the Repco Bathurst 1000, despite Team 18 facing a major rebuild for the second time in as many years.
Rookie co-driver Harri Jones clouted the concrete wall at The Chase in Practice 2 on Thursday after striking a puddle. The end result was a 56g hit for Jones, leaving Team 18 in another rebuild hole.
Team 18 was forced into an overnight repair effort 12 months ago when David Reynolds smashed the concrete head-on in qualifying.
The hit ruined Reynolds's hopes, with the chassis bent. Reynolds reverted to a new chassis for the next round on the Gold Coast, only to crash again in Adelaide.
This time 'round, the #18 has dodged a bullet, according to Team Principal Adrian Burgess.
“A very unfortunate accident for Harri. Coming out of The Chase, the car in front of us had run wide and deposited a massive pile of water on the track, which caught him out. I feel for him there," Burgess said in a team release.
“Up to that point, the car had been really quick in both sessions, so we were tracking along fine.
“The car will be okay, it’ll be a late night tonight. We’ll put a new rear clip in it and four corners on it. All the main parts of the chassis are fine, and we’ll stick a gearbox in it.
“It’s nowhere near as bad as it looked, luckily enough. It was still a 56g impact, so it wasn’t insignificant, but the design worked as intended.
"The components failed where they should, wishbones collapsed and absorbed the load, so the car stood up fairly well. It’ll just be a late night for the boys tonight.”
Porsche Carrera Cup champion Jones avoided injury, and was frustrated to get his Bathurst debut off to a poor start.
“Thursday at Bathurst, I’ve had better days. Unfortunately, our weekend hasn’t started as we hoped, with the car in the fence in Practice 2," Jones said.
“I’m disappointed for the whole team, who have a big night ahead of them, but I know they’ve got the ability. We’ll have another fast car tomorrow, reset, and go again.”
Supercars action resumes on Friday morning with Practice 3 at 10:05am AEDT, followed by Practice 4 at 1:05pm. Friday's action concludes with the all-important Boost Mobile Qualifying at 4:10pm, which sets the running order for Saturday's Boost Mobile Top Ten Shootout.
Live coverage of the Repco Bathurst 1000 can be found live on screens of the Seven Network, 7plus, Fox Sports and Kayo Sports.
