Supercars standout Brodie Kostecki suffered a heavy crash in qualifying for the Gold Coast 500 on Saturday, leaving four photographers injured.
Kostecki had already sustained significant damage to the front left of his Shell V-Power Mustang prior to the crash, after repeatedly clipping a tyre bundle at Turn 1.
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His team had patched up the car a number of times, giving the West Australian a chance for a final run in Q2, only for Kostecki to clip the tyre bundle again on his flying lap, sending him head-on into a tyre wall at top speed.
The 2023 Supercars champion ended up 16th, missing the top 10 shootout, while four photographers required medical treatment as a result of the crash.
A Supercars spokesperson later confirmed access to that part of the track had been changed for photographers and all were in a stable condition.
“Two photographers sustained ankle injuries, one suffered an elbow injury, and a fourth received a head injury,” they said.
“All four are alert, talking, very stable and will be transported to hospital for further assessment. All are in a stable condition.
“Motorsport Australia has implemented changes to photographer access in that area for the remainder of the event.
“Supercars extends its thanks to the volunteers, officials and medical crews for their swift and professional response.”
Kostecki, who gave a wave and a thumbs up after he was helped from the car, was cleared of any injuries.
The 27-year-old spoke after the session, saying: “I’m physically good.
“I obviously just clipped the tyre bundle, there was a bit of damage and it just went under the front wheel and went straight in headfirst.
“The boys and girls have a lot of work to do now, but it’s not looking so good.”
Kostecki’s Dick Johnson Racing team was seeking permission to repair the car off-site in a mad rush to give him any chance of competing this weekend.
The first 250km race commenced at 4.15pm AEDT on Saturday, with Chaz Mostert taking the win ahead of Broc Feeney and Kai Allen.
Kostecki was forced to sit out Saturday’s race, with the second getting underway at 3.10pm AEDT on Sunday.
“That has well and truly shortened the front of that car,” Neil Crompton said on Fox Sports after seeing a replay of the impact.
“So that’s big overnight work.
“If they were able to turn that around in some form today that would be something of a miracle.”
