Dick Johnson Racing will wait until it gets back to its Queensland base before making a decision on whether it will repair the damaged #17 Falcon.
David Besnard crashed heavily at Griffins Bend on Sunday, ripping the rear end off the Jim Beam Black Falcon which ignited into a scary fireball.
Besnard emerged OK, but the car looked worse for wear.
The team could use one of its spare chassis, but with the Armor All Gold Coast 600’s international drover test being held at Queensland Raceway next week, DJR’s men will be in a race against time.
Team manager Malcolm Swetnam says that it will be decided today if his team will repair the crashed car or prepare its spare chassis.
“It’s as not as bad as it looks in all honesty,” Swetnam said.
“Like all accidents, it all hinges on whether any of the suspension points have moved. The wheels are rolling and so on and I suspect its mainly cosmetic. We’ll have to have a closer look.
“We have a brand-new shell back at base, but obviously the objective is to have it rolling for Wednesday morning at QR.
“We might fix this one but really until we get it back, it’s just speculation.
The incident occurred on Lap 113 when Besnard had just replaced lead driver Steve Johnson, which included a pad stop. Radio communication between the car and pit was not working and Besnard did not pump the brake pedal on the run up Mountain Straight.
The Jim Beam car was pitched into the wall, causing the fuel to spill out of the tank and onto the track.
Swetnam says that he was relived to see Besnard emerge from the fire.
“It was a frightening incident,” Swetnam said.
“It’s never good to see fire a bunch of fire.
“Really it’s nobody’s fault. As with all accidents, it’s a set of circumstances that end up causing an accident.”
CLICK HERE for Besnard’s take on Sunday’s incident.
