Zane Goddard has been fined $10,000 for causing a massive crash on Lap 5 of the Repco Bathurst 1000.
The Tickford Racing co-driver ran off at The Chase in a bungled attempt to pass Greg Murphy for sixth, then ran through the muddy outfield and slithered back onto the race track at the exit of the right-hander which marks the end of the complex.
It was then that the #5 Mustang which he was driving took out Brad Jones Racing’s #8 ZB Commodore and became an obstacle for Grove Racing’s #26 Mustang to shunt into at significant speed.
Half of Goddard’s fine is suspended until the end of next year.
“Following a post-race DRD Investigation into the Incident where Car 5 re-joined the Race Track at Turn 22 on Lap 5 and collided with 2 other Cars, and an admission by the Driver of Car 5, Zane Goddard, of a breach of Schedule B2, Article 3.3.2 (Should a Car leave the Race Track for any reason, the Driver may re-join, however this may only be done when it is safe to do so), the Stewards imposed a fine of $10,000, $5,000 of which is suspended until 31/12/23, pending no further breach of Schedule B2, Article 3.3.2,” read the stewards report regarding that incident.
Four teams were fined $250 each for failure to maintain minimum pressure in line lockers during pit stops, namely Grove for the #10 Mustang, Team 18 for the #18 ZB Commodore, Erebus Motorsport for the #99 ZB Commodore, and Triple Eight Race Engineering for the #888 ZB Commodore.
Dick Johnson Racing was fined $350 for each car for a failure to parallel park in their pit bay at the end of the Warm Up session which preceded the race at Mount Panorama.
“Following a report from Supercars Technical and an admission by Racing Team (Aust) Pty Ltd of a breach of Supplementary Regulation 5.8.1.4 (At the conclusion of the warm-up Session, Cars in Pit Lane are required to parallel park in their pit bay), the Stewards imposed 2 fines of $350 on Racing Team (Aust) Pty Ltd (a fine for each Car),” read the stewards report.
The other penalties from race day were issued during the 161-lapper itself, namely a five-second penalty for the #97 Triple Eight ZB Commodore which eventually won due to an unsafe release from its pit pay, and a time penalty for the #56 Tickford Mustang when Jake Kostecki turned Murphy around at Griffins Bend.
The stewards report also sheds light on why Erebus’s Brodie Kostecki escaped penalty when he turned around Tickford’s #6 Mustang, with James Moffat behind the wheel, in the battle for the effective lead at The Cutting on Lap 46.
There was no further action “because Car 6 failed to give racing room to Car 99 at the apex, causing the contact resulting in Car 6 to spin and lose positions.”
Moffat and Tickford boss Tim Edwards had heavy criticism for Kostecki in the hours after the race, from which Erebus boss Barry Ryan has since moved to defend him.
The following incidents were also investigated and not referred to stewards:
- The Incident involving multiple Cars on Mountain Straight after Turn 1 on Lap 1 (as no Driver was wholly or predominately to blame for the Incident)
- The Request for Investigation from Team 18 to review the Incident involving contact between Car 100 and Car 18 after Turn 22 on Lap 5 (because Car 100 was taking action to avoid a collision with a stationary Car on the Race Track)
- The Request for Investigation from Team BJR to review the Incident involving contact between Car 96 and Car 22 after Turn 21 on Lap 12 (because Car 96 failed to give Car 22 sufficient racing room)
- Incident at Turn 18 between Car 3 and Car 2 on Lap 41 (because Car 3 failed to give racing room to Car 2 at the apex, causing the contact resulting in Car 3 to stop in the barrier).
Officially, race results “remain preliminary pending conclusion of routine post-race scrutiny,” stewards note.
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