Two in critical condition after crash

Two drivers were in a very critical condition after a crash on the first day of the Bathurst racing festival, where thousands of fans had gathered to pay tribute to Australia's late driving legend Peter Brock.

Mark Porter from New Zealand and home driver David Clark were airlifted to hospital after the crash during the V8 Supercar race at the circuit 150km west of Sydney.

Television pictures showed Porter's Holden Commodore car spinning sideways after striking a wall. Despite his best efforts, Clark could not stop his Ford Falcon from colliding into the stricken vehicle at an estimated speed of 200km per hour.

This year's meeting had been touted as a mass remembrance for the career of motor racing great Brock, a nine-times winner of the Bathurst 1000 touring car race, who died in a rallying accident near Perth last month aged 61.

Mount Panorama, where yesterday's accident took place, had been turned into a shrine to Brock, with hundreds of signs and flags mourning "The King of the Mountain".

The winner of tomorrow's Bathurst 1000 will be presented with the new Peter Brock Trophy.