FOUR-TIME Supercars race winner Nick Percat has taken aim at the use of tyre bundles following a monumental crash in the Sunday race at the Gold Coast 500.
Percat was one of eight cars taken out of the race in a Lap 4 pile-up at the beach chicane.
It began with James Golding getting sideways through that section of track and being sent into the wall after contact with a tyre bundle.
That subsequently fed his #31 Subway Commodore into the path of a train of oncoming traffic.
“I couldn’t see a whole lot, up on two wheels through the chicanes. Unfortunately for the NTI-mobile, we’re obviously out of the race,” said Percat.
“It’s great for the safety with Jimmy. When I landed, I really got a bit of a fright because I didn’t want to hit him in the driver’s door and injure him obviously so I did my best to try to get right and just hit him in the right wheel.
“It’s a shame, so many cars out. I think in this day and age we’re a bit over tyre bundles.
“Obviously he has lost the car a bit but he shouldn’t pay a price like that because we use old rubbish tyres that are wrapped and strapped to the track.
“Disappointing that in this day and age we use a used tyre from a garbage bin and we write off six cars.”
Another driver caught in the crossfire was James Courtney, who shared that view.
“That’s what we as drivers lobby so hard to get rid of tyre bundles, because that’s pretty much what caused it all,” he said.
“I’m not sure what happened in front but there were just cars blocking the track.
“I tried to stop, the initial impact wasn’t too bad but then I got cleaned up from the rear.”
Only 17 cars made the restart from the red flag, with Thomas Randle, Todd Hazelwood, Broc Feeney, Lee Holdsworth and Macauley Jones also out.
Courtney has since returned to the track, 16 laps down.
