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Front row starters Anton De Pasquale and Mark Winterbottom have been taken out of contention in Race 12 at the Merlin Darwin Triple Crown.
A chaotic start to the race saw the Irwin Racing #18 Holden ZB Commodore lose power as he grabbed second gear.
Moments later, the car refired, but a handful of cars blew by.
As the cars fired towards Turn 1, Red Bull Ampol Racing driver Shane van Gisbergen dived to the inside of pole-sitter De Pasquale.
Cast wide of the apex of van Gisbergen, the Shell V-Power Racing Team driver was then clipped by DeWalt Racing’s Scott Pye.
That sent De Pasquale into a spin.
As De Pasquale rotated, Winterbottom hit the right rear quarter and was ploughed into by Brad Jones Racing duo Todd Hazelwood and Jack Smith as well as Team Sydney pair Fabian Coulthard and Garry Jacobson.
Red Bull Ampol Racing’s Jamie Whincup was forced to go wide as was Andre Heimgartner of Ned Racing.
With the race under control of the Safety Car, van Gisbergen led Nick Percat (R&J Batteries Racing), Chaz Mostert (Mobil 1 Appliances Online Racing), Cameron Waters (Monster Energy Racing), and Jake Kostecki (Unit Racing).
Tim Slade (CoolDrive Racing), Brodie Kostecki (Erebus Boost Mobile Racing), Kurt Kostecki (Mobil 1 Racing), Macauley Jones (Coca-Cola Racing), and Thomas Randle (Castrol Racing) completed the top 10 at the time of the Safety Car.
Watch the incident below:
CARNAGE ON THE FIRST TURN in Darwin 😱 🚥 #RepcoSC@repcoaustralia 🏁🏎️💨 pic.twitter.com/fBP8agyR1V
— 7Sport (@7Sport) June 19, 2021
