Supercars news 2024: ‘Killer pythons’- Marshall opens up on viral snake moment

The marshall who wrangled a brown snake off the track at Bathurst yesterday has opened up on the viral moment and the practical jokes that his mates have been playing on him since.

The fire marshall who wrangled a venomous snake off the track at Mount Panorama has opened up on his viral Bathurst moment and the gags his mates in race control have been playing on him since.

In a classic Bathurst 1000 wildlife moment, the marshall leapt into action to recover the slippery track invader who delayed the start of Thursday’s co-driver practice session.

Deputy fire marshall Greg, who did not want his surname used, scooped up the snake in a hessian bag after it slithered onto the track at Forrest’s Elbow.

The snake’s track invasion has since gone viral, joining an echidna and kangaroos among the famous wildlife moments at the biggest race of the Supercars season.

Greg was in race control when the snake slid onto the track and was quickly dispatched to catch the scaly visitor.

The long-time Bathurst fire marshall has had plenty of experience catching snakes before - but never before on a race track.

“I was in race control at the time and when they said there was a snake on the track, so I had a look at the monitor,” Greg said.

“They said, ‘What kind of snake is it? and I said it was a brown snake and then the camera panned in a bit further and zoomed in.

The snake delayed the co-driver qualifiers at Bathurst. Picture: Getty Images

“I said, ‘It’s not a happy snake, it’s ready to go’. So the race director said, ‘If it’s ready to go, you go’.

“So I jumped into the race control vehicle and (went) up there and picked it up and got everything done within five or 10 minutes.

“It was probably about four and half feet long and about two and half inches around. It was a pretty good snake.

“We see all sorts of weird and wacky things (at Mount Panorama) so you always expect the unexpected.

“I have caught plenty of snakes before, just not on a racetrack.”

Greg, who has been a marshall at Mount Panorama since 2013, revealed officials now kept a snake catching bag on hand at the circuit in the event of any unwelcome slippery visitors.

“Just because of the heat up here and they are all starting to come out of their breeding season,” he said.

“I just put the bag in front of him and he just jumped straight in the bag.

“The thing with them is, because it was afraid, it just wanted to find a safe spot, so they look for a dark spot and they just go straight in.”

Greg said he had been amazed at the online reaction to the snake and said he had been copping plenty of gags from his fellow marshalls.

“The memes that are going around are unbelievable,” Greg said.

“I got presented with a couple of (lolly) snakes this morning. I went up to race control and got given some killer pythons.

“I’ve been copping a bit of heat from them.”

Originally published as Supercars news 2024: ‘Killer pythons’- Marshall opens up on viral snake moment