Engel slams Van Gisbergen over Bathurst 12H wreck

Mercedes Benz GT racer Maro Engel has thrown his co-driver Shane van Gisbergen under the train after a disappointing end to the Bathurst 12 Hour race in Australia.

The German slammed his co-driver, who was in contention for the win, and seemingly on his way to second, when van Gisbergen crashed at the top of the track with 25 minutes to go.

Van Gisbergen was due to be informed that he needed to serve a drive-through penalty, after hitting a lapped Porsche late in the race.

Engel did not hold back when he was interviewed on Australian TV.

"That's not motorsport in my book," he said. "Better watch out what I am saying...

"It's a tough one. All I have seen this weekend is a lot of mistakes from Shane."

Van Gisbergen was apologetic later.

"It was just a mistake," he admitted. “It was 100 percent my fault, I was just pushing it.

"Sorry to the team, sorry to my teammate. I am so sorry, I was on the limit, sometimes over it. I will go an apologize to him (Engel). I will be angry at myself until the next race.”

Engel, 31, raced against van Gisbergen in V8 Supercars in 2013, when he joined Erebus Motorsport. At the time van Gisbergen was with Tekno Autosports, the team he left last year before winning the Supercars title with Red Bull Racing.