Brady had his second crash in two outings when he kissed the wall through turn one and ended up rolling during time trials.

Twenty-nine cars had qualified in the second group when Brady crashed out, which caused a delay and put the drivers who hadn't been qualified on the back foot.

In other drama early on Saturday night, it took some time for defending Classic champion Steven Lines and teammate and 2010 Classic victor Shane Stewart to uncover some mechanical problems.

Their crews uncovered an ignition problem which was able to be rectified, but the teammates were left well behind the eight ball.

Lines then hit the outside wall twice in heat four , causing some damage to the rear of his car, and his title defence bid was in tatters.

Experienced racer Eddie Lumbar also failed to make the start of his first heat after coming to grief while warming up when he tangled with Simpson's John Vogels.

Warrnambool's Stephen Bell had trouble getting off the start line in heat three, which caused a pile-up through turn one.

Local hope Darren Mollenoyux ended up with his wings badly squashed and N75 Glen Saville was forced to the infield.

Bell's problems were believed to have stemmed from a loose fuel fitting which caused the V88 car to suck air.

"The motor just wouldn't go. Something was not right, but there's no real damage," he said.

Bell later had to retire from his second heat after charging through the field.

Six-time Classic winner Danny Smith also had his share of problems, crashing out of heat 10 when he tried to sneak through on the inside of Domain Ramsay.

Both cars came to grief, with Smith going airborne and landing on his car's tail. He was not injured.

The most spectacular action unfolded in the last heat on Saturday night, when Ben Atkinson's N6 car spun onto the front of Jonathon Allard's USA0 machine exiting turn four, leading the pair into rollovers down the main straight.

The cars both had to be removed from the track but the drivers walked away.

athomson@standard.f airfax.com.au