Team NZ Aston Martin withdrawn from 12 Hour after Friday crash

TEAM NZ has officially withdrawn its Aston Martin Vantage GT4 from the Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour after a crash on Friday.

Late in Practice 4, Graeme Dowsett collided with the Herberth Motorsport Porsche 911 of Alfred Renauer.

Contact sent Dowsett into a slide and towards the concrete wall, with the car sustaining significant right rear damage.

After an evaluation, the team elected to withdraw the car.

“Following an on-track incident during practice, our Aston Martin GT4 has unfortunately sustained damage that prevents us from continuing in the race,” the team wrote on social media.

“While this is not the outcome we hoped for, we are grateful that our driver is safe and incredibly proud of the team’s hard work and professionalism throughout the event.

“Multi-class racing brings intense and complex moments on track, and we respect every competitor who shares the circuit.

“We may be out of the race, but our spirit remains strong. We’ll regroup, rebuild, and come back stronger. “Thank you to the fans, teams and drivers for the support and messages.”

Practice 5 commences at 8:05am local time on Saturday.