The Nick Percat/Tim Slade Matt Stone Racing Chevrolet Camaro was driven into its garage after 50 of the 161 laps with a suspected dropped cylinder.
It’s a heartbreaking blow for Percat, who this week announced he’s set to retire from full-time driving at the end of the year.
The engine issue has cruelled not only his chance of a strong Bathurst result but also making the inaugural Supercars Finals Series.
“It looks like we’ve lost a cylinder,” reported Percat.
“It’s been an absolute nail since Thursday in a straightline and it’s finally given up, maybe, I’m not sure. Just very, very upsetting.
“Kind of cruised around in a very good spot, the balance was pretty good, but from the first lap of the race Sladey said we had no straightline. Not ideal.”
At the same time the Chaz Mostert/Fabian Coulthard Walkinshaw Andretti United Ford Mustang began losing pace, with its engine audibly off-song.
The team power cycled the car during a scheduled pit stop without solving the issue, leaving Mostert to slowly fall towards the back of the top 10.
“They thought it might have been cam timing so they turned the car off, reset it, it didn’t do anything,” reported Mark Larkham on the TV broadcast.
“He said the coolant pressure is now through the roof, the crankcase pressure is through the roof and we all know that’s not good.”
Mostert’s Mustang subsequently stopped on Conrod Straight on lap 58, just after a restart from the day’s first Safety Car period.
The first mechanical issue of the race came at the very start, when the Bryce Fullwood/Brad Vaughan Camaro failed to get off the line due to a gearbox failure.
The car was towed back to the pits and later rejoined after a gearbox replacement.
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