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Qualifying report

Darwin Supercars: McLaughlin blitzes Shootout for pole

Scott McLaughlin set a blistering 1m05.723s in the Top 10 Shootout in Darwin to bag his seventh pole of the season.

Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske Ford

Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske Ford

Daniel Kalisz / Motorsport Images

Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske Ford
Jamie Whincup, Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden
James Moffat, Garry Rogers Motorsport
Fabian Coulthard, Team Penske Ford
Shane van Gisbergen, Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden
Craig Lowndes, Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden
David Reynolds, Erebus Motorsport Holden

Despite the warm conditions, the DJR Team Penske driver had few issues running last for the single-lap dash. He was the only driver to dip into the ‘fives’, his 1m05.723s leaving him 0.332s clear of the field.

“It was awesome,” said an elated McLaughlin.

“A five-seven, I didn’t think that was the possible. The track was very greasy, but the car was fantastic. The car was amazing for me, so to get it done is cool. Hopefully we can get some more doughnuts for the Americans tonight.”

Triple Eight’s Jamie Whincup made up a position compared to regular qualifying to move onto the front row with a 1m06.056s, while Garry Rogers Motorsport driver James Moffat was the biggest mover, going from fifth to third with an impressive 1m06.185s.

“The car has been mega all day, and it’s been quick all weekend,” said Moffat. “We’re amongst the big boys starting third, so it’s a good spot to be.”

Moffat’s time demoted Fabian Coulthard to fourth, his time half a second slower than teammate McLaughlin.

“It was okay, but it wasn’t great,” he said. “You can’t take anything away from Scotty, that was awesome. We have quick cars, we just can’t make it work on the new tyre.”

Shane van Gisbergen and Lee Holdsworth both made up a spot to qualify fifth and sixth respectively, thanks to mistake in the middle sector of David Reynolds’s lap which saw the Erebus driver lose three tenths and slip back three spots to seventh.

Cam Waters made one spot at the expense of Craig Lowndes to move into eighth, while Nick Percat ended up where he started after running first in the Shootout.

ClaDriverCarTimeGap
1 17 new_zealand  Scott McLaughlin  Ford Falcon FG-X 1'05.7233  
2 88 australia  Jamie Whincup  Holden Commodore VF 1'06.0562 0.3329
3 34 australia  James Moffat  Holden Commodore VF 1'06.1855 0.4622
4 12 new_zealand  Fabian Coulthard  Ford Falcon FG-X 1'06.2302 0.5069
5 97 new_zealand  Shane van Gisbergen  Holden Commodore VF 1'06.2350 0.5117
6 18 australia  Lee Holdsworth  Holden Commodore VF 1'06.5436 0.8203
7 9 australia  David Reynolds  Holden Commodore VF 1'06.5792 0.8559
8 6 australia  Cameron Waters  Ford Falcon FG-X 1'06.5867 0.8634
9 888 australia  Craig Lowndes  Holden Commodore VF 1'06.7873 1.0640
10 8 australia  Nick Percat  Holden Commodore VF 1'06.8741 1.1508

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