Bargwanna cops suspended fine
16/4/2002 14:18 (V8 Wire - Jason Whittaker) -
Jason Bargwanna was fined $5000, suspended until the end of the year, for his verbal assault on Greg Murphy last Sunday, as the fallout from one of the most spectacular crashes in the category’s short history continues.
Bargwanna launched into a heated exchange with Murphy after he flipped his Commodore at the start of race one at Phillip Island Raceway on the weekend.
The pair, friends until now, had to be separated as Bargwanna angrily blamed Murphy for the crash.
Murphy remains unrepentant, despite being found at fault by race stewards and disqualified from the results of the race.
He was heard telling Bargwanna “I’d do it again” during the argument on Sunday. Later, he said, “you never want to see an accident like that, but it was not my fault.”
Bargwanna today thanked the “literally hundreds” of well-wishers via the Garry Rogers Motorsport web site, reporting soreness sustained in the crash was now gone and he is back in training.
He remains hopeful the car can be rebuilt in time for Eastern Creek in a fortnight. The Commodore's front suspension snapped and the chassis was bent in the crash, though the most severe damage was confined to the bodywork.
CAMS collected a total of $10,000 in fines across the Phillip Island weekend.
Glenn Seton and John Faulkner were both fined $500; Faulkner for passing the chequered flag twice during pre-qualifying and Seton for arriving late to the compulsory team managers’ briefing.
Mark Skaife and Todd Kelly are each $2000 worse off for not wearing series sponsor Dunlop’s cap for the television presentation after race two.
Skaife’s forgetfulness (or perhaps reluctance) is understandable: the Holden Racing Team is still sponsored by Bridgestone.
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