Dramatic scenes unfolded at the Gold Coast 500 on Sunday afternoon when a major crash involving eight cars occurred during the first lap of the race.
It came as Brodie Kostecki backed up his Bathurst 1000 victory by taking another title on the streets of Surfers Paradise.
The incident took place at Turn 11 of the aptly named Breaker Avenue and Anton De Pasquale was forced to abandon the race.
Almost half of the participants were involved in the huge accident, so a safety car was immediately issued.
De Pasquale appeared to push Walkinshaw Andretti United driver Ryan Wooden entering the turn.
Wooden subsequently lost control of his car and crashed directly into a barrier on the right side of the curve.
De Pasquale then turned into a queue of approaching cars around the bend.
James Courtney was the first to arrive, and the Blanchard Racing Workforce driver drove straight into the side of De Pasquale's Shell car, slamming it into the barrier on the left side of the track with some force.
Courtney's hood appeared to sustain some damage in the accident, and a train of cars behind them were caught in the accident.
Fortunately, it appears that no one was seriously injured in the incident and everyone except De Pasquale was able to continue with slight cosmetic damage to their cars.
“I went down there and I think Woody was having a half moment with Anton in front of me, Stanaway, and we were all there.
“I could see everything that was happening so I tried to stop and I had 12 cars behind me trying to push me during the accident,” Courtney said.
“It's really disappointing, we've come a long way, we had good car speed this weekend and it looks like we might get home sooner than we thought.”
Commentator Neil Crompton was left stunned by the accident.
“There's the usual drama at Breaker Avenue and we have Carmageddon in Turn 11, and the safety car will fly. What a catastrophe,” Crompton told Channel Seven.
An eight-car crash occurred at the Gold Coast 500 on Sunday afternoon.
Anton De Pasquale was forced to abandon the race after his car spun on the track and crashed into the wall.
'One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight cars involved.
“Now, Ryan Wooden pushed the Hino barriers, and then I saw one of the Shell cars and I think it was Will (Brown).
“Unfortunately, there are all kinds of problems here.”
Mark Skaife said, “Of all the appropriately named streets on this layout, Breaker Avenue has eight cars.”
Erebus driver Kostecki was unrivaled as he put in a masterclass on Sunday to convert the pole position into his first Gold Coast victory after avoiding an early race carnage.
It is the reigning Supercars champion's second win of the season after dominating Mount Panorama with co-driver Todd Hazelwood earlier this month.
“Bathurst was a fairytale for us, and coming into this weekend we knew we were going to be there or thereabouts,” Kostecki said.
“We got there, we still needed a few more adjustments, but finally today we got the car back in the window. “It was a rocket.”
Series leader Brown overcame a ferocious Feeney in a thrilling duel between the two Purple Bulls to finish second and stay at the top of the standings.
Feeney remains Brown's only rival in the championship race, but admits his chances of winning his first title are slim.
“I wish he (Brown) would stop and let me pass,” Feeney said.
“Every move here carries risks… I never had a good enough opportunity (to overtake).
“It's a long shot to get to Adelaide, but we're still in the search.
“The pressure has eased a little bit now.”
James Courtney collided into the side of De Pasquale and suffered some minor damage to the hood.
Commentator Neil Crompton was stunned by the incident and called it “carmageddon”.
The incident occurred during the first lap when De Pasquale appeared to collide with the rear of Ryan Wooden.
After winning Saturday's race, Cam Waters attempted to act as a spoiler, but came up short in fourth place after sustaining damage to the front end of his Tickford Mustang.
Chaz Mostert, then fifth, was forced to return to containers to refuel after a mistake on his last visit and had to settle for eleventh place.
With only 300 points available in the final round in Adelaide, Mostert and Waters will not be able to close the gap on Brown.
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