‘Carmageddon’ unfolds at Gold Coast 500 as eight-car pile up causes race to be delayed – as Brodie Kostecki backs up Bathurst victory with another win

Dramatic scenes unfolded in the Gold Coast 500 on Sunday afternoon when a massive crash involving eight cars occurred on the first lap of the race.

It came as Brodie Kostecki backed up his Bathurst 1000 victory by claiming another title on the streets of Surfers Paradise.

The incident took place at Turn 11 on the aptly named Breaker Street, forcing Anton De Pasquale out of the race.

Almost half of the field was involved in the huge crash, which immediately resulted in a safety car being deployed.

De Pasquale appeared to nudge Walkinshaw Andretti United driver Ryan Wood as he entered the corner.

Wood then lost control of his car and drove straight into a barrier on the right side of the bend.

The Pasquale then turned into an oncoming line of cars driving around the bend.

James Courtney arrived first, with the Blanchard Racing Team driver plowing straight into the side of De Pasquale’s Shell car, causing him to crash with some force into the barrier on the left side of the track.

Courtney’s hood appeared to sustain some damage in the crash, while a train of cars behind them all became involved in the crash.

Fortunately, it appears that no one was seriously injured in the incident, and everyone except De Pasquale can walk away with minor cosmetic damage to their cars.

“I went in and I think Woody sat with Anton in front of me for a moment, Stanaway, and we were all there.

“I could see it all happening, so I tried to stop, and I had 12 cars in the back trying to push me through the accident,” said Courtney.

‘It’s really disappointing. We’ve come a long way, had good car speed this weekend and it looks like we might be home sooner than we thought.”

Commentator Neil Crompton was stunned by the crash.

“There’s the usual drama at Breaker Street and we’ve got a carmageddon out of Turn 11, and the safety car will fly – what a catastrophe,” Crompton told Channel Seven.

“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight cars involved.

“Now Ryan Wood hit the Hino barriers, and then I saw one of the Shell cars and I think that was Will (Brown).

“Unfortunately, there are all kinds of problems here.”

Mark Skaife said, “Of all the appropriately named streets on this model, Breaker Street has eight cars.”

Erebus driver Kostecki was largely unchallenged as he produced a masterclass drive on Sunday to convert pole position into his first Gold Coast win after avoiding carnage early in the race.

It is the second race win of the season for the reigning Supercars champion, after dominating Mount Panorama with co-driver Todd Hazelwood earlier this month.

“Bathurst was a fairy tale for us, and when we arrived this weekend we knew we would be there or thereabouts,” said Kostecki.

“We showed up, needed a few fine adjustments, but finally got the car back in the window today. It was a rocket.”

Series leader Brown beat a ruthless Feeney in a thrilling duel between the two Red Bulls to finish second and stay at the top of the leaderboard.

Feeney remains Brown’s only opponent in the championship race, but admits his chances of a first title are slim.

“I wish he (Brown) would stop and let me through,” Feeney said.

“Every move here carries risks… I never had enough opportunity (to overtake).

“It’s a gamble to go to Adelaide, but we’re still in the hunt.

“The pressure is now a bit more off.”

After winning Saturday’s race, Cam Waters attempted to act as a spoiler but fell short in fourth place after suffering damage to the front end of his Tickford Mustang.

Chaz Mostert, then fifth, was forced to return to the pits to refuel after a mistake on his last visit and had to settle for 11th.

With only 300 points available in the final round in Adelaide, Mostert and Waters will not be able to close the gap to Brown.