Bates stripped of top 10, Hill critical of 'desperate stuff'
Zach Bates stripped of Christchurch top 10 by post-race penalty
Matt Stone Racing rookie charged from 19th, but has since been penalised
Bates penalised over lap 4 clash with BJR driver Cameron Hill
Zach Bates has been dumped out of the top 10 of Race 11 after being hit with a post-race time penalty.
The Matt Stone Racing rookie charged from 19th on the grid to 10th at the chequered flag in Saturday’s first Christchurch race.
Bates had appeared to have delivered a second straight top 10 finish following his career best of ninth on Friday afternoon.
However, Race 11’s final results included a 15-second penalty for Bates, dropping the #10 Bendix Camaro from 10th to 14th in the final classification, and promoting fellow rookie Rylan Gray into a career-first top 10.
Bates commenced lap 4 of the race in 16th, behind Canberran Cameron Hill. Bates and Hill collided at Turn 2, which sent the #14 Electro-Voice Toyota tumbling back towards the back.
With Bates clear, Hill picked up damage in a subsequent melee that saw David Reynolds penalised.
The stewards report reads: "The Stewards having viewed the Judicial Camera footage from Car 10, hearing from the DSA, the Authorised Representative and the Drivers involved determined that the Driver of Car 10 caused the collision with Car 14 and as a result of the collision Car 14 was disadvantaged and lost multiple positions."
On the broadcast, Hill said: “There are a couple of young guys out there that don’t know how to overtake.
“I just got punted out of the way by Rylan [Gray] and Zach and then at the hairpin I just got absolutely smashed into and got broken steering. Pretty disappointing. A lot of desperate stuff out there.”
It was the latest in a line of flashpoints between Canberrans Bates and Hill, following collisions in Sydney and Melbourne. Notably, Hill was penalised over a Turn 1 incident in Melbourne that left Bates seething over team radio.
The pair also clashed at Queensland Raceway last year in Bates' debut weekend in Triple Eight's wildcard, with Hill copping a pit lane drive through penalty after forcing him off the road down the pit straight.
Bates and Hill will launch from 17th and 20th in Saturday's second race.
