Measures put in place to prevent bizarre GC600 water leak 

Measures have been put in place to ensure there is no repeat of a bizarre water leakage onto the Surfers Paradise circuit that forced a red flag in Practice 3 at the Vodafone Gold Coast 600.

Officials threw the red flag after 12 minutes of running when a significant quantity of water emerged at Turn 3 providing a wild hazard for drivers that had been treated to dry and sunny conditions all day.

The exact cause of the puddle of water is unknown although television cameras picked up a hose behind the inside wall at the corner where it appeared the water was emanating from.

The issue was quickly resolved to allow the session to continue which resulted in Cameron Waters topping the times.

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Race Control has confirmed to Speedcafe.com that there had been a drainage issue at that section of track that was flagged on Wednesday and addressed at the time.

Secondary measures have now been put in place following today’s incident.

“The track build and preparation crew noticed an issue on Wednesday and they put some preventative measures in place,” deputy race director David Stuart told Speedcafe.com.

“I’m not exactly sure what happened in the session but it looked like they were able to fix it quickly, obviously identifying that issue they will be monitoring that.

“They have already put a secondary plan in place to makes sure it is all good for the rest of track activity.”

Several drivers encountered the water at high speed but all emerged from wild slides without finding the barriers. 

Jamie Whincup was among those to have an ‘out of control’ moment.      

“Crazy stuff. I think someone’s emptied the bath and it’s ended up on the track,” said Whincup.

“I’ve come around and all of a sudden the track is wet and it’s all out of control.”

Meanwhile, James Courtney added that the sun made the hazard difficult to pick up.

“I couldn’t work out what happened,” said Courtney. 

“(I) Couldn’t really see the water because of the glare at that point. (It) just barked up and went sideways, so grabbed a handful of the wheel and carry on.” 

Supercars will return to action on Saturday with Armor All Qualifying at 0940 local time.