Big crash suspends 2026 Meguiar's Bathurst 12 Hour
Bathurst 12 Hour red flagged after horrifying crash
Race leader Ralf Aron slammed into stationary Porsche
First 12 Hour red flag since 2018
RED flags have flown at the Meguiar's Bathurst 12 Hour following a sickening crash over the top of the mountain after a Safety Car restart.
The incident began when the #79 TSUNAMI RT Porsche of Johannes Zelger spun on the kink before Forrest's Elbow, with the #14 Aston Martin of Damien Hamilton stuck in behind.
Race leader Ralf Aron was blindsided as he came across the situation, and careened into the front of the Porsche at near-unabated speed, with the race almost immediately suspended.
The incident started all the way back at McPhillamy Park, with photos showing Zelger hitting the wall at McPhillamy Park.
The Porsche then limped it's way down the mountain with damage, and stacked up the field behind, with Hamilton going to one side, and Kai Allen left with nowhere to go in the mad scramble, clipping the back of the Porsche, which was left perpendicular on the racing line.
Allen recalled: "Not really sure to be honest, we obviously got let through on the wave by.
"Cam [Waters] managed to get by that really slow Porsche, Dean [Fiore] and I were just trying to get away, and there was an Aston and the Porsche either side going really, really slow.
"I was very concerned about us getting ploughed up the back, because the leaders would be coming through soon. Very unfortunate, I really don't know what happened.
"I was trying to go around him, went really slow, and he just braked, and I just accidentally hit him.
"I really don't know, it was a very weird situation, and very unfortunate to see that massive crash. I hope everyone is ok."
That collision occurred on a restart lap after the heavy crash for James Golding, with the backmarker group of cars about half a lap ahead of the leaders.
Ralf Aron, who had mistakenly come through pit lane on the previous Safety Car due to issues with pit-to-car communications, was the first car on the scene and had no warning around a blind corner.
Aron piled into the Porsche at almost full racing speed, the front of his #77 Mercedes bursting into flames, with Luca Stolz and Maro Engel diving out of the way in their own Mercedes.
It is the first red flag interruption at the 12 Hour since the race-ending stoppage in 2018.
Aron jumped out his car visibly winded, whilst Zelger also climbed out of his Porsche under his own power.
Aron will be taken to Orange Hospital for further evaluation, and is in a stable condition.
