Greg Gartner will not be able to run the upcoming Boost Mobile Super Trucks weekend at the Townsville 500 due to three fractured vertebrae from a motorbike accident. He announced his exit on Thursday.
“Good luck to all the Stadium Super Truck drivers this weekend at Townsville,” began Gartner on social media, “unfortunately due to me somehow fracturing 3 vertebrae which I believe was from a previous motor bike stack I won’t be able to join the Stadium Super Trucks this weekend”.
Gartner raced the most recent weekend at Darwin in June, where he finished second, fourth, and seventh in three races. Making his first start of the 2021 season, Race #1 saw him lead much of the event before being passed by Paul Morris on the final lap. Despite falling short of his first career win, the runner-up finish still marked his maiden podium. Gartner had also hurt his back after Race #2, though his finishes there and in the final event coupled with his podium were enough to earn him third for the overall weekend points.
He has raced in SST since the trucks débuted in Australia in 2015. During the series’ first and then-only trip to Townsville in 2016, he recorded finishes of fifth, sixth, and sixth.
Another driver change from Darwin for Townsville comes in the addition of Toby Price, who will make his 2021 début.