Plenty of V8 Supercar teams will have their work cut out for them in the next two weeks repairing cars before the ITM400 Hamilton after a little too much excitement in today’s race at Albert Park.

A third of the field DNFed the third non-Championship race of the 2010 BRC IMPCO V8 Supercar Challenge due to mechanical failures and accident.

Although the New Zealand races are three weeks away the teams only have a two week turnaround, with the extended Easter break in the middle, to have the cars ready to get them on the plane for the flyaway event.

Fujitsu Racing GRM’s Michael Caruso, Wilson Security Racing’s Tim Slade and Rock Racing’s Jason Bargwanna were the first victims of the 13 lap race.

Bargwanna was hit from behind halfway through the first turn and spun around, while Caruso’s car speared into the wall during the multi car turn one clash and the front left side of Slade’s car was damaged forcing him out of the race.

“We were looking to have a good race today and I got a really good start and made up a few spots,” Bargs said.

“I got a clean run to the first corner but got contact from behind and once I got turned around it broke the steering on the right with the first hit and then I got hit on the other side as well, so I had no steering whatsoever and it ended our race there and then.

“We were up in the top six or seven after getting a good launch off the line at the start, but unfortunately there was nothing we could do there at the first corner.”

In the Stratco Racing Commodore, Bargwanna’s teammate Tony Ricciardello fared no better in the race after he spun and hit the concrete wall on the exit of turn 12.

Before the safety car was deployed to remove the Stratco car, Jamie Whincup was leading the race but the engine in his TeamVodafone Commodore dropped a cylinder and he had to abort his race.

After the restart, Andrew Thompson was forced to park his Bundaberg Red Racing Commodore on the track due to mechanical problems and by then there was plenty of oil on the track.

While the field grappled to keep the cars on a slippery track, Jim Beam Racing’s James Courtney was battling a mechanical drama of his own.

Courtney was forced to retire, with Jim Beam Racing’s Adrian Burgess reporting during the race that the #18 Falcon had an oil leak.

Ford Performance Racing’s Mark Winterbottom was another retiree thanks to a brake issue on his Orrcon Falcon along with Triple F Racing’s Dean Fiore.

“I hit Ricciardello’s oil at turn nine, locking me up, spearing me off and causing a flat spot,” Winterbottom said.

“That coupled with a long brake pedal made any further progress in the race pretty much impossible.”

The ITM400 Hamilton runs from April 16-18.