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USA
Qualifying report

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

Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske Ford

Daniel Kalisz / Motorsport Images

Fabian Coulthard, Team Penske Ford
Nick Percat, Brad Jones Racing Holden
Shane van Gisbergen, Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden
Fabian Coulthard, Team Penske Ford
Craig Lowndes, Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden
David Reynolds, Erebus Motorsport Holden

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).

ClaDriverCarTimeGap
1 17 new_zealand  Scott McLaughlin  Ford Falcon FG-X 1'05.6806  
2 12 new_zealand  Fabian Coulthard  Ford Falcon FG-X 1'05.8231 0.1425
3 88 australia  Jamie Whincup  Holden Commodore VF 1'05.8269 0.1463
4 9 australia  David Reynolds  Holden Commodore VF 1'05.8711 0.1905
5 34 australia  James Moffat  Holden Commodore VF 1'05.8856 0.2050
6 97 new_zealand  Shane van Gisbergen  Holden Commodore VF 1'05.9050 0.2244
7 18 australia  Lee Holdsworth  Holden Commodore VF 1'05.9223 0.2417
8 888 australia  Craig Lowndes  Holden Commodore VF 1'05.9923 0.3117
9 6 australia  Cameron Waters  Ford Falcon FG-X 1'06.0092 0.3286
10 8 australia  Nick Percat  Holden Commodore VF 1'06.0264 0.3458
11 14 australia  Tim Slade  Holden Commodore VF 1'06.0266 0.3460
12 15 australia  Rick Kelly  Nissan Altima 1'06.0964 0.4158
13 55 australia  Chaz Mostert  Ford Falcon FG-X 1'06.1005 0.4199
14 7 australia  Todd Kelly  Nissan Altima 1'06.1025 0.4219
15 23 australia  Michael Caruso  Nissan Altima 1'06.1039 0.4233
16 2 australia  Scott Pye  Holden Commodore VF 1'06.1716 0.4910
17 56 australia  Jason Bright  Ford Falcon FG-X 1'06.1914 0.5108
18 19 australia  Will Davison  Holden Commodore VF 1'06.2002 0.5196
19 33 australia  Garth Tander  Holden Commodore VF 1'06.2423 0.5617
20 5 australia  Mark Winterbottom  Ford Falcon FG-X 1'06.3022 0.6216
21 28 australia  Jack Le Brocq  Nissan Altima 1'06.3270 0.6464
22 22 australia  James Courtney  Holden Commodore VF 1'06.3279 0.6473
23 21 australia  Tim Blanchard  Holden Commodore VF 1'06.4279 0.7473
24 78 switzerland  Simona de Silvestro  Nissan Altima 1'06.4635 0.7829
25 99 australia  Dale Wood  Holden Commodore VF 1'06.5157 0.8351
26 4 australia  Macauley Jones  Holden Commodore VF 1'06.7812 1.1006
27 62 australia  Alex Rullo  Holden Commodore VF 1'06.8483 1.1677
28 3 australia  Cameron McConville  Holden Commodore VF 1'07.0771 1.3965

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