Photographers injured as Kostecki crash ends Gold Coast qualifying

The Dick Johnson Racing driver made head-on contact with the wall at the exit of the first chicane with just seconds remaining in Q2.

That was the result of an already damaged front splitter folding under the front wheels midway through the complex.

Kostecki’s impact with the tyre wall moved the concrete barriers behind it, sending photographers scattering.

Four were hurt in the incident and are being transferred to hospital.

Kostecki was uninjured in the shunt but it’s unclear if the car will be able to be fixed.

BIG BIG BIG HIT FOR KOSTECKI 🤯#RepcoSC #Supercars pic.twitter.com/piSfsMTvgo

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“[I’m] physically good, but I hope the people behind the barrier are okay. There was some news that there was some injured people there,” he said.

“Obviously clipped the tyre bundle and the splitter was a bit damaged and it went under the front wheels and I went straight in head first.

“The boys and girls have got a lot of work to do. Hopefully we can get it back out but it’s not looking so good.”

Kostecki had initially damaged the car’s left-front corner in Q1, requiring race tape to hold the bumper to the guard.

TV footage showed further damage early in Q2, with more tape applied that gave way upon the Turn 1 kerb strike.

“It felt safe to continue and then obviously it’s just broken off,” Kostecki said.

“A bit of a misjudgement by me, but you pay the price big when you make a mistake around here.

“Hopefully the car is not too bad and we can get it fixed and go back out and race from there.

“It’s not over, we’ll give it a good crack.”

Kostecki ruled out of Saturday Gold Coast Supercars action

A pair of non-starts this weekend would end Kostecki’s championship hopes given the elimination format of the new Finals Series.

The red flag left Matt Payne fastest ahead of Chaz Mostert, Ryan Wood, David Reynolds, Will Brown, James Golding, Cam Waters, James Courtney, Broc Feeney and Anton De Pasquale.

Those 10 drivers will take part in the Shootout that will set the grid for the afternoon’s opening 250km race.

Kostecki was 16th in the order at the time of his crash having yet to set a representative time during the session.

Those to narrowly miss out on the Shootout were Nick Percat, Kai Allen, Andre Heimgartner, Thomas Randle and Cooper Murray, who will start 11th through 15th.

Aaron Cameron and Will Davison were 17th and 18th while Richie Stanaway, Jack Le Brocq, Jaxon Evans, Bryce Fullwood, Cam Hill and Macauley Jones were eliminated in Q1.

Results: Gold Coast 500 Race 1 qualifying