High speed collision triggers first crash of 2026 Bathurst 12 Hour

The #7 Team NZ Aston Martin Vantage GT4 has become the first victim of the 2026 Meguiar's Bathurst 12 Hour, with a crash spoiling what had been a clean Fast Friday.

Two-time Bathurst 12 Hour winner Kenny Habul emerged fastest in the final Bronze session of the weekend with a brilliant 2:04.9062s.

However, the headlines were stolen by a bizarre collision between Graeme Dowsett and Alfred Renauer, which led to the former clouting the concrete wall on the run to McPhillamy Park.

The #7 Aston Martin appeared to turn in on the #21 Herberth Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) at Reid Park, sending Dowsett towards the wall.

With the session suspended with five minutes remaining, officials declared the session, handing Friday honours to Habul and 75 Express.

Habul opened proceedings in the #75 75 Express Mercedes-AMG with a 2:13.6684s, before lowering the number to a 2:10.8371s. Aboard the #93 Lamborghini, Grant Denyer marched ahead with a 2:10.7644s, and went even quicker with a 2:08.9664s.

Behind Denyer, Brad Schumacher (2:10.0490s) and Ruan Cunfan (2:09.4398s) stayed within reach, before Practice 2 fast man Brett Hobson opened up in the #45 RAM/GWR Mercedes-AMG entry.

Hobson laid down a 2:07.6888s to put a margin on the field, before he went even quicker with a 2:06.2656s.

Not content, Habul went fastest in the final sector before rolling out a 2:05.4050s. Hobson recorded a 2:05.9758s, which was nearly 0.6s down on the #75 Mercedes-AMG.

Just as Schumacher jumped to second with a 2:05.7705s, Habul nailed a 2:04.9062s to move nearly a second clear with 13 minutes remaining.

With seven minutes to go, Schumacher moved his own number to a 2:05.5099s, before the Dowsett/Renauer incident brought out the red flags.

It was the last in a line of incidents in the session, which saw an early spin for Ralf Bohn in the #21 Porsche at The Chase. Later, Tony Quinn turned his #101 Audi down on Schumacher's Audi at Forrest's Elbow, leading to gentle side-to-side contact.

Track action resumes on Saturday with dual 60 minute practice sessions from 8:05am local time, before drivers fight for the Allan Simonsen Pole Trophy across qualifying and the Pirelli Pole Battle.