#32 BMW wounded, van der Linde critical of 'unnecessary' clash

THE #32 WRT BMW has been undone by damage following an “unnecessary” first corner clash in the Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour.

The Kelvin van der Line/Augusto Farfus/Charles Weerts car was hit with a mechanical black flag in the opening hours, dropping a lap due to repairs.

The drama began with van der Linde at the wheel, when the car sustained front right damage after a collision at Hell Corner in the opening seconds.

Sergio Pires' #44 Geyer Valmont Racing/Tigani Motorsport Mercedes-AMG ran wide at Hell Corner, and cut across the #32 BMW. With the #64 HRT Mustang of Christopher Mies on the inside, a pinch led to contact between the #44 and #32.

The defending champion team elected not to pit under the half-hour-long Safety Car following separate incidents for the #64 Ford and #50 KTM.

With Weerts at the wheel through two hours and 25 minutes, the damaged worsened as the car flew through The Chase, forcing the officials' hand.

“So early in the race, it was a bit unnecessary,” van der Linde said on the broadcast after his first stint.

“I saw a couple of guys go super hot into Turn 1 and didn’t have the Lamborghini on my radar that probably went a little bit off track.

“As he came across, everyone just kind of drove into the middle of the track, and that’s where I was.

“Unfortunately we have a lot of damage, but the car felt okay through the stint. We were able to get on and move up. Hopefully it doesn’t mean too much of a disadvantage later on.

“If we want to fix it, we need to bring the car into the garage. That’s the only thing we can’t do outside. We’re going to try stay out as long as we can and hopefully it holds up.”

The sister #46 car of Valentino Rossi/Augusto Farfus/Raffaele Marciello led at the two-and-a-half hour mark.