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Warren Luff has paid thanks to former Pirtek Enduro Cup partner Craig Lowndes for his assistance during and after the duo’s big crash in Bathurst practice.
A brake failure saw Luff spin into the back of Lowndes at Griffins’ Bend, sending both cars careening into the tyre barrier.
CLICK HERE for Speedcafe.com’s Practice 6 report, including video of the incident
Lowndes subsequently helped Luff out of his Commodore, which had come to rest on its side after bouncing off the tyres.
Luff had co-driven with Lowndes at Triple Eight over the last two seasons before being replaced this year.
“I’m very grateful for Craig helping me out of the car and just being a great mate,” Luff told Speedcafe.com.
“It’s the biggest crash I’ve ever had and in a situation like that when you’re arriving there as quick as you are and you go for the brakes, to have nothing is certainly not a nice feeling.
“It wasn’t intentional to try and hit him but when I down-shifted it locked the rears and the back came around.
“Craig was an innocent by-stander but from my perspective it was good because without hitting him it would have been a lot worse.”
The accident continued a horror weekend for Luff, who heavily damaged his Porsche Carrera Cup car on Thursday shortly after co-driver Garth Tander crashed the #2 Commodore in V8 Supercars practice.
“I feel for Luffy because he’s had a rough trot in the last couple of days and the HRT worked pretty hard to get that car back on the road,” said Lowndes.
“He did a great job trying to get away from the car but tagged the back of us
“My first thing when I got out was, seeing his car on its side, I wanted to get him out.
“He’s a lanky bugger and had his legs stuck around the (steering) column but we got him out and he was ok.”
Both teams are now working to repair their cars, with the HRT currently unsure if it’s repairable in time for Sunday’s race.
