This years Bathurst 1000 was eventful for a number of reasons.
Craig Lowndes, in his last year of full-time racing, won Australia’s most famous supercar event for the seventh time, putting him just two race wins behind Peter Brock’s record.
But much of the post-race focus has been on last year’s winner – David Reynolds – who led for most of the race. However cramps, sleep deprivation and anxiety proved costly as he was overtaken by Lowndes with just 26 laps to go.
Questions are now being asked as to why the Erebus team kept Reynolds out on the race track for so long – possibly endangering other drivers in the race.
Before the race Fans were warned to take it easy on the roads citing driver fatigue as one of the big killers on NSW roads.
And on the subject of driver fatigue, the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) is investing in new field trials to test driver fatigue monitoring technologies, which can enhance heavy vehicle safety outcomes.
At the NHVR Fatigue Safety Forum recently held in Sydney, Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Minister Michael McCormack said the aim of the field trials is to stimulate new technologies with the potential to reduce road deaths and trauma, targeting driver fatigue management.
He said driver fatigue is a major killer on Australian roads and in the heavy vehicle industry, with current estimates showing that 8 to 20 per cent of all crashes are fatigue-related.
He said that a growing number of transport operators have been alerted to the use of new technologies to complement their existing processes for monitoring driver fatigue.
Dual Bathurst Winning Commodore Sells for Record Breaking $2.1 Million at Auction
Peter Brock’s 1982/1983 Bathurst-Winning HDT VH Commodore was the first car to win two Bathurst races in a row and has continued to break records 35 years later.
It recently sold for record breaking $2.1 Million at Auction
Craig Lowndes also auctioned off his race suit to raise money for the V8 Supercars Drought Relief Auction.