Race fan finds BMW wing after wild Bathurst crash

Weerts tangled with a GT4 Ginetta on the run into The Cutting while running third on Lap 121, resulting in a spectacular incident for the pole-sitting Team WRT entry.

The #32 BMW spun and rode the wall before eventually coming to rest with all four wheels back on the race track, although it would proceed no further.

Now, imagery has emerged online of the rear wing from the Shell Helix M4 GT3, which Logan Dockett posted to the ‘Shakedown’ Facebook page for fans of GT/sportscar racing.

Captioned, “Went fishing at the cutting.. Caught a beauty,” it shows Dockett (presumably) holding a wing plane while standing on the side of a grassed hill.

Replays of the incident do indeed show the boot of Car #32 having been stripped of its rear wing as it bounced off the concrete and skated up the hill.

According to television commentary, the car also severed a cable to one of the broadcast cameras at the crash site.

Weerts’ ride brought back memories of the infamous Marcos Ambrose-Greg Murphy clash in the 2005 Bathurst 1000, in more ways than one.

The Belgian, like Ambrose, was attempting to pass around the outside when two cars converged on the same piece of track at ‘the rockface’, resulting in a lurid spin.

Then and now, the car on the outside very nearly climbed over the concrete wall, which separates the race track from a steep drop.

In this case, Weerts expressed a level of regret for his part in the crash, stating, “I will not try to overtake on the outside there when I come back here.”

It is not clear if WRT needs/has asked the race fan to return the wing, or if he has stumbled upon what would become an impressive piece of memorabilia for his coffee table/man cave, a point which Speedcafe has sought to clarify with the team.

UPDATE: Dockett has confirmed to Speedcafe that WRT asked for the wing and it has been returned

UPDATE 2: A WRT spokesperson has confirmed to Speedcafe that the wing is in the container and on its way back to Belgium

The BMW squad saw the sister #46 M4 GT3 make the finish, although fifth position was also a disappointment after Maxime Martin was shuffled back in a late, four-way battle for second place.

Replays

All angles of the BMW #32 incident at The Cutting :eyes:

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— Bathurst 12 Hour (@Bathurst12hour) February 17, 2024