Bathurst safety changes could come before 6 Hour

The genesis for the potential changes is the frightening crash during this year’s Bathurst 12 Hour that left Ralf Aron with a broken back.

The Craft-Bamboo Mercedes driver made heavy impact with a Porsche that was left stranded at Forrest’s Elbow while Johannes Zelger was at the wheel.

The spun Porsche didn’t immediately prompt a red flag despite being left in its precarious position for the best part of a half a minute before the lead pack arrived at racing speed.

That thrust the handling of the matter from race control into the spotlight.

Motorsport Australia has since completed a thorough investigation into the matter, finding that no fault fell at the feet on the officials directly involved.

At the same time, the governing body has discovered some potential procedural improvements that will today be assessed by its own Motorsport Risk and Safety Committee.

Should the committee agree to the changes, it is hoped they will be implemented before this weekend’s Bathurst 6 Hour.

“We completed our internal investigation within a week of the incident,” Motorsport Australia CEO Josh Blanskby told Speedcafe.

“Clearly, it was a very serious incident. We wanted to get to the bottom of that. That was presented to our board in late February, where it found that there was no fault for any of the marshals – they followed all protocols.

“In saying that, we felt like there were some recommendations that could improve how Bathurst is governed from a flag marshalling perspective.

“That paper is going to our Motorsport and Safety Committee on Tuesday (today), with some clear recommendations that we’ve made as a management and I’d be very hopeful that committee also endorses that, which will allow changes to be brought in for the 6 hour over Easter.”

The exact nature of the proposed changes is not yet known.