The Xbox Falcon is taken out late in the race
October 11, 2015
BATHURST, NSW, 10 OCTOBER 2015: After a faultless lead up to the Bathurst 1000 and a Top 10 finishing position in sight, the Xbox Falcon of Scott Pye and Marcos Ambrose crashed heavily on Lap 137 of the race.
The day started well with Pye running comfortably in the lead group before handing over to Ambrose. Running strongly, Marcos' return to Bathurst put the car in a great position by the time he pitted on Lap 73 to vacate the seat.
As so often happens at Mt Panorama, all eyes were on the skies as the predicted rain arrived on Lap 92. Marcos was back in the car but as the track started to dry quickly he was caught out with wet tyres overheating and dropped a number of spots. This left the team really chasing hard when Scott was back in on Lap 107 to take it all the way home.
Pye was running by himself for a number of laps with his sights set on trying to claw back to a Top 10 spot. On Lap 137, the Xbox Falcon appeared to not turn into the very fast Reid Park section and Scott was hard into the concrete wall; the driver's side taking the brunt of a big impact. The on board camera showed Scott climbing across to the passenger side and the medical crew attending to him as soon as he was out of the car. Under supervision from Dr Carl Lee, Scott has been taken by road to the Orange Base Hospital for precautionary checks.
The DJR Team Penske crew were gutted after such a strong showing from the moment the car took to the track on Thursday, and have proved that the hard work has turned the Xbox Falcon into a genuine top contender in the field.
The next race on the calendar is the Gold Coast 600 in two weeks' time.
Ryan Story – Managing Director – DJR Team Penske
"The whole DJR Team Penske crew were devastated as we watched Scott's accident from the pits. The team's performance this weekend, led by Scott, has been outstanding, so it is very disappointing to see him crash out in such a way. Our initial technical inspection suggests the car may have broken a steering arm on the run down into Reid Park pitching Scott into the wall.
"He is battered and bruised of course, and we suspect he may have broken one or two ribs. Dr Carl is supervising some checks at the Orange Base Hospital so we know he is in great hands. We wish Scott the speediest of recoveries."
Marcos Ambrose – N0 17 Xbox Falcon FG X
"What a tough way to finish the race! Scott was pushing on really well after the track dried. It was a big hit so hopefully he is all OK.
"I enjoyed my return to Bathurst. I did a double stint in the dry and held position pretty well. I was back in the Xbox Falcon when the rain came and had to do those extra laps to get my minimum laps up. I had lost some time when we were stuck out on there with badly worn wet tyres on a drying track. We lost some track position as with wet tyres that were way past their best.
"Overall it was our best weekend of the year in terms of car speed, so there is a lot to take away from here. The team has done a great job getting the car to this level."