Motorsport: IndyCar tragedy hits V8 Supercars round

Kiwi Shane van Gisbergen under pressure during last year's Gold Coast 600. Photo / Getty Images

The pain of IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon's death has proven too much for good friend Tony Kanaan, prompting his withdrawal from this weekend's Gold Coast 600.

But organisers are confident this weekend's V8 Supercars round would still provide a "true testament" to Wheldon after remarkably finding replacement drivers to complete their field on Tuesday.

V8 Supercars chairman Tony Cochrane said Kanaan had pulled out of the Gold Coast round to try and come to terms with Wheldon's death in a horror multi-car IndyCar crash at Las Vegas on Monday (AEDT).

"Sorry to all my Australian fans but due to the circumstances I've decided not to do the Surfers V8 race," Kanaan tweeted.

Kanaan's withdrawal comes after popular Australian driver Will Power was ruled out of the Gold Coast 600 on Monday after being admitted to hospital with back and neck pain following the 15-car IndyCar carnage.

"Tony was probably Dan's closest friend in the racing fraternity and we fully support his decision," Cochrane said.

Sadly, Wheldon was also set to contest the Gold Coast 600 with Holden star and good friend James Courtney.

Autopsy results late on Tuesday (AEDT) revealed two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Wheldon had died of head injuries.

"We'll be working with family and IndyCar officials and the attending physicians to fully review the case in an effort to improve safety for drivers," Clark County Coroner Michael Murphy told The Associated Press.

Las Vegas Motor Speedway president Chris Powell said it was still too early to determine whether IndyCar racing should return to the oval which had been previously criticised for being unsuitable for large fields.

Barely 24 hours after the IndyCar crash threatened to also leave the Gold Coast event in disarray, organisers announced the field was complete again with replacement drivers found for everyone - including Wheldon.

England's Darren Turner - a former F1 test driver for McLaren - is coming in for Wheldon.

Brazil's Kanaan has been replaced by Denmark's Allan Simonsen - who recently placed third in the Bathurst 1000 with Greg Murphy - while Northern Ireland's Richard Lyons fills in for Power.

All 28 international drivers - who will partner V8s stars at the Gold Coast - are expected to be at Queensland Raceway near Ipswich for a test day on Wednesday.

"As is typical in the motorsport community, everyone has got behind this absolutely tragic set of circumstances and we are up and running and in good shape for the weekend," Cochrane said.

"We want to run a good event on the weekend as a true testament to a true champion in Dan Wheldon."

The other IndyCar drivers booked for the Gold Coast 600 - Australia's Ryan Briscoe, Canada's Alex Tagliani and Brazil's Helio Castroneves - confirmed earlier on Tuesday that they would race.

Some teams are hoping to remember Wheldon with a graphic of the IndyCar driver on their vehicle on race day.

Cochrane said they would be paying a fitting tribute to Wheldon by just competing on the glitter strip.

"Ryan Briscoe said it would be best to come here and race in honour of Dan," he said.

Cochrane boasted the Gold Coast 600 featured "probably one of the greatest line-ups world motorsport has ever seen, anywhere".

The field now includes eight drivers with Formula 1 race experience and current F1 driver Tonio Liuzzi, five-times Le Mans champion Emanuele Pirro and former Indianapolis 500 champions Castroneves and Gil de Ferran.

- AAP