Fan vision has captured the terrifying moment a Mercedes GT3 worth about $500,000 almost climbed over the wall in a massive crash early in the Bathurst 12-hour.
Supercars team owner Stephen Grove went for the wild ride after side-by-side contact with another Mercedes driven by former race winner Kenny Habul at the entry to Skyline.
The contact sent Grove's car into the wall on the driver's left, launching it into the air and almost over the concrete wall.
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Stephen Grove nearly cleared the concrete wall in a massive crash early in the Bathurst 12-hour. Getty
When the car came to rest, the in-car camera and microphones captured Grove gasping for air before climbing from the car unassisted.
The pair were running 8th and 9th with just over nine and a half hours remaining at the time of the crash.
Had the car cleared the fence, the car would likely have rolled down the steep descent down the side of Mount Panorama.
"That's the closest a car has ever gone to going over the wall there," Richard Craill said in commentary.
An on-board still of Grove's crash. FOX Sports
The stewards determined the crash was a racing incident and elected against issuing any penalties.
Habul later explained he believed Grove was waving him through when he made the move.
"I'm sorry for the incident with the Grove car. I know I was side-by-side, he slowed and moved over (and) I thought 'he's letting me through'," he said on the broadcast.
"So I'm really disappointed for them."
Vision from a fan captured the moment. FOX Sports
Habul was also critical of the general driving standards after several penalties were dished out for driving infringements in the opening few hours of the race.
"It's very aggressive out there – it's the way it is every year. I don't know why. People fight really early and they shouldn't fight," he said.
"But there's too much testosterone, throw in the mix a few pelicans, and it's madness. All I wanted to do was stay out of the madness.
"Nothing (good) happens in the first 11 and a half hours."
Grove was taken to the on-site medical centre for mandatory checks and was then transferred to Orange hospital by road.
The crash was the second major incident for the race, after an earlier crash involving a McLaren and an Audi.
Barely an hour-and-a-half into the race, Ryan Sorensen lost control of his McLaren at McPhillamy Park and crashed heavily into the inside wall.
The car then bounced across the track and made heavy impact with the Audi of Marcel Zallour.
Ryan Sorensen (left) and Marcel Zallour crashed at Skyline early in the Bathurst 12-hour. FOX Sports
"How's your luck – oh my goodness me … that's brutal," commentator John Hindhaugh quipped.
Sorensen was also taken to the on-site medical centre, and then driven to Bathurst hospital.
Moments earlier, fan-favourite Craig Lowndes was an early retirement from the race after he, too, crashed at the top of the mountain.
Cameras captured Lowndes, also at the wheel of a Mercedes, coming to a stop near pit entry. Lowndes put his hands up and admitted he'd hit the wall at the entry to the dipper, which had likely broken the drive shaft in the left-rear.
