Sports · Motorsport · 13 hrs ago
Opening-lap crash leaves Tracey fifth as Hazelwood wins
In a Trans Am race, Blake Tracey needed to finish ahead of Hazelwood to secure second in the standings and the points he needed for a Motorsport Australia Superlicence.
On the opening lap, Tracey hit the rear of Hazelwood’s car at Turn 4, triggering a pile-up.
Herne’s car climbed over Tracey’s, causing heavy damage to both cars and forcing Herne to retire.
Hazelwood went on to win, while Tracey nursed his damaged car home in fifth.
Herne had already secured the championship in the previous race, so the crash did not change the title result.
Herne’s plans for 2027 remain unclear; he said he would assess his options during the offseason.
Blake Tracey finished fifth after an opening-lap collision left his car badly damaged.
Tracey made contact with the rear of race winner Todd Hazelwood at Turn 4, triggering a pile-up.
Hazelwood took his third win of the weekend, beating Jack Smith by 0.9 seconds.
Andre Herne retired after his car was damaged in the incident, despite having already secured the championship.
- Who
- Todd Hazelwood won, while Blake Tracey finished fifth and Andre Herne retired.
- What
- Hazelwood won the race after an opening-lap collision damaged Tracey’s and Herne’s cars.
- When
- November 8, 2026, according to the article’s publication date.
- Where
- At Turn 4 and elsewhere on the circuit; the venue is not stated.
- Why
- Tracey contacted the rear of Hazelwood’s car on the opening lap, causing a pile-up that damaged several cars.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Tracey made contact with the rear of Hazelwood at Turn 4, and Herne’s car climbed over Tracey’s left rear.
Herne limped back to the pits and retired, while Tracey continued with severe damage.
The safety car was deployed after Oli Wickham stopped at Turn 1 with a mechanical issue.
Hazelwood won, Jack Smith finished second, and Tracey came home fifth.
- Winner
- Todd Hazelwood
- Winning margin
- 0.9 seconds over Jack Smith
- Tracey’s finish
- Fifth
- Herne’s result
- Retired; his first DNF of the season
- Incident
- Tracey contacted Hazelwood at Turn 4 on the opening lap
What people are saying
To end it that way really sucks to say the least, but at the end of the day it still doesn’t take away from what we’ve done this year.
We’re a very small team and we prep two cars, and I feel like we’ve done a really good job this season.