The field for the 2020 Bathurst 12 Hour has been depleted by the spectacular series of crashes across Saturday’s action.
Three Class A cars and an Invitational entry are set to be missing from the grid when the race kicks off on Sunday morning, off the back of a spate of crashes in both practice and qualifying.
The #27 Hub Auto Ferrari has been withdrawn following Daniel Serra’s trip into the wall at Skyline in the final free practice session, leaving the Brazilian and his team-mates Tim Slade and Marcos Gomes on the sidelines.
The #777 Triple Eight Mercedes is also out of the race thanks to Sam Shahin’s heavy hit in qualifying following contact from the #8 Wall Lamborghini.
“It’s hard because the closing speed was quite quick, but ultimately it was probably an avoidable accident,” said Anton De Pasquale, who was set to share the car with Sam and Yasser Shahin and Nick Foster.
“It was pretty disappointing not to get to do qualifying and have a chance to make the Shootout, and then do the 12 hours tomorrow.
“There was a lot of good work leading up to that point when it all went wrong. Firstly we obviously want Sam to come out of it alright, which it sounds like he has.
“I’m disappointed for everyone, it was a big effort by everyone to get to this point, so it’s a shame.”
The #92 Marc II that clipped Shahin’s stricken car before hitting the wall at the Dipper is also expected to miss the race.
The R-Motorsport Aston Martin squad, meanwhile, will be down to one car tomorrow, the #62 entry too damaged by Marvin Kirchhoefer’s frightening rollover.
Commenting on his accident, Kirchoefer said: “Everything was going alright and when I came down the Grate I touched the outside wall.
“I’m not sure if it broke the suspension or blew off the rear tyre, but I couldn’t control the car anymore, I was just a passenger.
“It’s quite impressive what kind of safety this car provided. I have seen a bit of the footage but refused to continue.
“I’m obviously glad that nothing serious happened to me, but on the other side I’m very, very sorry for the whole team.”
Another two cars involved in crashes could still make the start, with M-Sport working to fix the #8 entry after Oliver Jarvis’ brake failure – and subsequent contact with the wall – at The Chase.
The Trofeo Motorsport crew is also trying to repair the Pro-Am Lamborghini, which ended up parked on top of the tyre bundle at Skyline at the very end of qualifying.