Pye escapes horror crash in Practice 3

Scott Pye has walked away from a heavy crash after suffering brake failure in the third Supercars practice session at Queensland Raceway.

The DJR Team Penske Ford slammed head-on into the Turn 3 tyre barrier in the closing stages of the 15 minute session.

Coming to rest with the front of his Falcon atop the tyre wall, Pye was able to climb unhurt out of the passenger side door.

The crash immediately brought out the red flags, with officials soon informing that the session would not be resumed.

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DJR Team Penske managing director Ryan Story confirmed that the team had changed rear discs on the Falcon just prior to the crash.

“I swear I’ve had one legit crash in this series and I’ve had so many mechanicals,” said Pye.

“I must be the unluckiest driver out there.

“I hit the brake pedal and it was solid and then clicked to the floor. That’s a horrible feeling when that happens.

“It came back up and I went for it again and I think it was only front brakes. It locked both front wheels and went straight on.

“Just before I hit the wall I braced, let go of the wheel and copped it sweet.

“The track safety there was really good.

“Going in you fear the worst but fortunately it lifted the car as well.

“It was kind of like Tasmania (in 2013 when Pye had a brake failure in a LDM Holden) where it absorbed it a bit so the force wasn’t too bad.

“It’s a real shame for the boys, it makes their job a lot harder now and it’s not the time where I need to be out of the car.

“I need to be in there doing the best job I can. I’m just gutted at the moment.”

Mark Winterbottom had been following Pye when the crash occurred.

“Down into Turn 3 we all brake at around the 130 metre mark and his brake lights came on at the 100 marker,” said The Bottle-O Ford driver.

“I thought if he’s going that deep then I’ve got a lot of work to do.

“Then the smoke came off the tyres and I didn’t see what happened.

“Thankfully he’s walked away. Front-on impacts are always the worst.

“He obviously had a failure and if he could have pulled it up he would have been a hero.”

Jamie Whincup ended the session fastest from Winterbottom, Chris Pither, Craig Lowndes and James Courtney.

Among those that did not get their lap in due to the red flags was Fabian Coulthard, who ended up 24th.

Qualifying will take place from 1330 local time.

Result: Virgin Australia Supercars Championship Coates Hire Ipswich Super Sprint Practice 3

1	Red Bull Racing Australia	Jamie Whincup	Holden Commodore VF	1:10.1028*S
2	The Bottle-O Racing Team	Mark Winterbottom	Ford Falcon FG/X	1:10.1751 S	0:00.0723
3	Super Black Racing	Chris Pither	Ford Falcon FG/X	1:10.2156 S	0:00.1128
4	TeamVortex	Craig Lowndes	Holden Commodore VF	1:10.3391 S	0:00.2363
5	Holden Racing Team	James Courtney	Holden Commodore VF	1:10.4393 S	0:00.3365
6	Monster Energy Racing	Cameron Waters	Ford Falcon FG/X	1:10.4874 S	0:00.3846
7	Team BOC	Jason Bright	Holden Commodore VF	1:10.5032 S	0:00.4004
8	Sengled Motorsport	Rick Kelly	Nissan Altima	1:10.5219 S	0:00.4191
9	Nissan Motorsport	Michael Caruso	Nissan Altima	1:10.5233 S	0:00.4205
10	Red Bull Racing Australia	Shane Van Gisbergen	Holden Commodore VF	1:10.6104 S	0:00.5076
11	Wilson Security Racing GRM	Scott McLaughlin	Volvo S60	1:10.6266 S	0:00.5238
12	Team Darrell Lea STIX	Will Davison	Holden Commodore VF	1:10.6369 S	0:00.5341
13	Freightliner Racing	Tim Slade	Holden Commodore VF	1:10.6700 S	0:00.5672
14	LD Motorsport	Nick Percat	Holden Commodore VF	1:10.7741 S	0:00.6713
15	carsales Racing	Todd Kelly	Nissan Altima	1:10.8977 S	0:00.7949
16	Holden Racing Team	Garth Tander	Holden Commodore VF	1:10.9138 S	0:00.8110
17	Supercheap Auto Racing	Chaz Mostert	Ford Falcon FG/X	1:10.9457 S	0:00.8429
18	Erebus Motorsport Penrite	David Reynolds	Holden Commodore VF	1:10.9795 S	0:00.8767
19	Erebus Motorsport Hungry Jacks	Craig Baird	Holden Commodore VF	1:11.0164 H	0:00.9136
20	LD Motorsport	Andre Heimgartner	Holden Commodore VF	1:11.0237 S	0:00.9209
21	Wilson Security Racing GRM	James Moffat	Volvo S60	1:11.0302 S	0:00.9274
22	Team Cooldrive	Tim Blanchard	Holden Commodore VF	1:11.0868 S	0:00.9840
23	GB Galvanizing Racing	Dale Wood	Nissan Altima	1:11.1343 S	0:01.0315
24	DJR Team Penske	Fabian Coulthard	Ford Falcon FG/X	1:11.3389 S	0:01.2361
25	Preston Hire Racing	Kurt Kostecki	Holden Commodore VF	1:12.0572 S	0:01.9544
26	DJR Team Penske	Scott Pye	Ford Falcon FG/X	4:07.7516 S	2:57.6488