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