Darwin Supercars: McLaughlin grabs provisional Sunday pole
Scott McLaughlin will run last in today’s Top 10 Shootout in Darwin, after topping regular qualifying for DJR Team Penske.
Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske Ford
Daniel Kalisz / Motorsport Images
McLaughlin was on top for the majority of the session, going fastest with a 1m05.942s on his first run before improving to a 1m05.857s on his second.
Teammate Coulthard enjoyed a brief spell on top with a 1m05.823s at the midway mark, before McLaughlin ran green tyres to log a 1m05.680s with six minutes to go.
The Kiwi was so confident that the time was good enough for a Top 10 spot that he was out of the car with the best part of the last five minutes to go. Ultimately that confidence was justified, the time holding up to give McLaughlin provisional pole by more than a tenth.
“We used a couple of sets of used and then a green set,” said McLaughlin. “The car is nice. We used an extra set yesterday, but it’s okay. I’m feeling good.”
Coulthard’s mid-session lap was good enough to make it a Penske one-two, although Triple Eight’s Jamie Whincup was just 0.004s behind in third.
David Reynolds kept his form going by banking a Shootout spot with the fourth quickest time, despite a shift-cut issue from yesterday rearing its head again in the early part of the session.
“We had some more dramas, as soon as I left pitlane I had to come back in and they started pulling out all these sensors – then it was alright, they fixed it,” he said. “I had two sets of tyres and went two-hundredths faster on the second set, so obviously I’m maximising the car.”
James Moffat put in an impressive performance to go fifth quickest, ahead of Shane van Gisbergen, Lee Holdsworth, and Craig Lowndes.
Cam Waters was the only Prodrive Racing Ford to make it into the Shootout, while Nick Percat booked the final Top 10 spot.
Big names to miss out on the Shootout included yesterday’s polesitter Rick Kelly (12th), Chaz Mostert (13th), and Mark Winterbottom (20th).
Cla | # | Driver | Car | Time | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 17 | Scott McLaughlin | Ford Falcon FG-X | 1'05.6806 | |
2 | 12 | Fabian Coulthard | Ford Falcon FG-X | 1'05.8231 | 0.1425 |
3 | 88 | Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore VF | 1'05.8269 | 0.1463 |
4 | 9 | David Reynolds | Holden Commodore VF | 1'05.8711 | 0.1905 |
5 | 34 | James Moffat | Holden Commodore VF | 1'05.8856 | 0.2050 |
6 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Holden Commodore VF | 1'05.9050 | 0.2244 |
7 | 18 | Lee Holdsworth | Holden Commodore VF | 1'05.9223 | 0.2417 |
8 | 888 | Craig Lowndes | Holden Commodore VF | 1'05.9923 | 0.3117 |
9 | 6 | Cameron Waters | Ford Falcon FG-X | 1'06.0092 | 0.3286 |
10 | 8 | Nick Percat | Holden Commodore VF | 1'06.0264 | 0.3458 |
11 | 14 | Tim Slade | Holden Commodore VF | 1'06.0266 | 0.3460 |
12 | 15 | Rick Kelly | Nissan Altima | 1'06.0964 | 0.4158 |
13 | 55 | Chaz Mostert | Ford Falcon FG-X | 1'06.1005 | 0.4199 |
14 | 7 | Todd Kelly | Nissan Altima | 1'06.1025 | 0.4219 |
15 | 23 | Michael Caruso | Nissan Altima | 1'06.1039 | 0.4233 |
16 | 2 | Scott Pye | Holden Commodore VF | 1'06.1716 | 0.4910 |
17 | 56 | Jason Bright | Ford Falcon FG-X | 1'06.1914 | 0.5108 |
18 | 19 | Will Davison | Holden Commodore VF | 1'06.2002 | 0.5196 |
19 | 33 | Garth Tander | Holden Commodore VF | 1'06.2423 | 0.5617 |
20 | 5 | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Falcon FG-X | 1'06.3022 | 0.6216 |
21 | 28 | Jack Le Brocq | Nissan Altima | 1'06.3270 | 0.6464 |
22 | 22 | James Courtney | Holden Commodore VF | 1'06.3279 | 0.6473 |
23 | 21 | Tim Blanchard | Holden Commodore VF | 1'06.4279 | 0.7473 |
24 | 78 | Simona de Silvestro | Nissan Altima | 1'06.4635 | 0.7829 |
25 | 99 | Dale Wood | Holden Commodore VF | 1'06.5157 | 0.8351 |
26 | 4 | Macauley Jones | Holden Commodore VF | 1'06.7812 | 1.1006 |
27 | 62 | Alex Rullo | Holden Commodore VF | 1'06.8483 | 1.1677 |
28 | 3 | Cameron McConville | Holden Commodore VF | 1'07.0771 | 1.3965 |
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