MOTORSPORT: Defending champion car out of 12-Hour
A crash in the first hour of practice wrecks Maranello Motorsport Ferrari 458's title defence and puts driver Tony D'Alberto in hospitalUPDATE 2:20pm: Tony D'Alberto, the driver injured when the Maranello Motorsport Ferrari 458 crashed at Forrest Elbow late in today's first practice session for the Bathurst 12-Hour, has tweeted from hospital: "I'm OK. Neck is a little sore, but otherwise I'm fine. Feel gutted for the Maranello Motorsport crew!"
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The Ferrari 458 that won last year's Bathurst 12-Hour is out of this Sunday's edition of the enduro after a heavy crash within an hour of practice starting at Mt Panorama today.
One of the Maranaello Motorsport Ferrari's three drivers for its title defence, Tony D'Alberto, crashed at Forrest Elbow with six minutes remaining in the first of four one-hour practice sessions scheduled today, with the front of the car badly damaged.
While no vision has been sighted yet (new race telecaster Channel Seven's cameras are not operating today), it is believed the Ferrari had contact with an Aston Martin driven by Frenchman Jean-Marc Merlin shortly before the crash.
The Aston Martin also crashed, but will be repairable to continue in the event.
D'Alberto, a former full-time V8 Supercar driver and still a V8 Supercar endurance co-driver, was taken to hospital in a neck brace for precautionary checks but appears not to have been seriously injured. Merlin was not injured.
The Ferrari had been second fastest in the hands of Finnish ex-Formula One driver Mika Salo — one of last year's Bathurst's 12-Hour-winning drivers with Craig Lowndes, John Bowe and Peter Edwards — before the crash.
A Lamborghini Gallardo topped the timesheet for the session, with the time set by David Russell, while the Nissan GT-R entered by NISMO was third fastest in the hands of Belgian Wolfgang Reip -- but the GT cars were about five seconds off the pace they are expected to set as the event progresses, with a pole position time only a couple of seconds over two minutes anticipated in Saturday's qualifying.
The Ferrari crash not only puts D'Alberto and Salo out of the event but will rob Ben Collins, the man famous as having been The Stig in the TV show TopGear, of a start in the 12-Hour after flying from Britain.
It also is a blow to Melbourne-based Maranello Motorsport commercially, having secured McDonald's sponsorship for the car's title defence.
"We were very confident that we had the right pieces in place to defend our victory ... but that's Bathurst," Maranello Motorsport's Mark Coffey said.
"It is almost certain the car is unrepairable [in time for Sunday's race], so it looks like we won't be able to defend our title."
Coffey said D'Alberto was "in reasonable spirits given the size of the impact".
motoring.com.au's preview of 2015 Bathurst 12 Hour
Image: Joel Strickland
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