Chaz Mostert and James Moffat out of Gold Coast weekend after qualifying shunt
The #55 Tickford Racing entry of Chaz Mostert and James Moffat will take no further part in this weekend’s Gold Coast 600 after the team announced the Ford Mustang is a write-off.
Mostert had provisionally qualified on pole for today’s 300km race and was the last car on track in the Top Ten Shootout, looking to make up time on eventual polesitter Scott McLaughlin as he dropped time across the first sector of his lap.
Turning into Turn 11, the defending race winner clipped the inside barrier, ricocheting the Mustang across the track and into the outside concrete wall, causing substantial damage to the #55.
Though Tickford had hoped to fix the car ahead of today’s race at 15:00 local time, team boss Tim Edwards confirmed the team’s worst fears with the news that the chassis is a write-off.
“The chassis is a write-off,” Edwards said.
“The engine is not even connected to the car anymore, it’s sheared the engine off and shoved it backwards through the car.
“The chassis is a complete write-off, as is most of the stuff that’s bolted to it.”
Speaking after the crash but before the news of his chassis being written off, Mostert took full blame for the accident and said there is no excuse for the stack.
“I just made the smallest mistake and it bites you,” Mostert said.
“There’s no excuse. We were nowhere in the middle sector, I shouldn’t have really made that mistake, but I just really struggled with the feel of the car under me to start with.
“In saying that it’s our job to drive around those things and try and do a time. I just failed today, it’s pretty simple.”
The crash comes off the back of a tough start to the endurances races for Mostert after he took himself, and team-mate Cam Waters, out of the Bathurst 1000 while racing for a podium position.
With his contract up at the end of the season, it is likely Mostert will move to Holden squad Walkinshaw Andretti United after racing with Tickford through various iterations since 2011.
