Darwin Supercars: McLaughlin smashes practice record
Scott McLaughlin decimated the practice lap record during the final pre-qualifying hit-out at Hidden Valley, setting a new benchmark time of 1m05.563s.
Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske Ford
Daniel Kalisz / Motorsport Images
With a number of drivers having peppered the 1m05s bracket during second practice yesterday, it was Rick Kelly that finally broke out of the sixes just 10 minutes into this morning’s session with a 1m05.994.
That time didn’t last long at the top, David Reynolds lowering the newly-set record with a 1m05.894s, before Fabian Coulthard took over with a 1m05.831s.
McLaughlin then toppled his teammate with a rapid 1m05.654s, only to go even quicker with a little over five minutes to go with a record-smashing 1m05.563s.
“The track is a little bit cooler than it probably will be in qualifying, so we were quite lucky there,” he said.
“The car was great, and I ran a set of tyres to have a feel for qualifying and it worked out okay.
“It was one green tyre run, but we had a good set left over from yesterday as well. That’s what we did the 1m05.6s on, and then had another crack on the greens.
“It’s enjoyable to drive, that’s for sure.”
Reynolds wound up second fastest with a 1m05.741s, improving on his earlier time right at the flag. That dumped Michael Caruso down to third, the Nissan driver having set a 1m05.809s with a little over 15 minutes to go.
Craig Lowndes was the best-placed Triple Eight Commodore in fourth, ahead of Coulthard (who failed to improve at the end of the session, Jamie Whincup, and Kelly.
Tim Slade made late gains to go eighth quickest, while Shane van Gisbergen was just ninth quickest.
It was a tough session for Prodrive Racing Australia, Chaz Mostert the best-placed PRA Ford in 11th while Mark Winterbottom could manage just 20th.
Cla | # | Driver | Car | Time | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 17 | Scott McLaughlin | Ford Falcon FG-X | 1'05.5635 | |
2 | 9 | David Reynolds | Holden Commodore VF | 1'05.7413 | 0.1778 |
3 | 23 | Michael Caruso | Nissan Altima | 1'05.8097 | 0.2462 |
4 | 888 | Craig Lowndes | Holden Commodore VF | 1'05.8108 | 0.2473 |
5 | 12 | Fabian Coulthard | Ford Falcon FG-X | 1'05.8319 | 0.2684 |
6 | 88 | Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore VF | 1'05.9647 | 0.4012 |
7 | 15 | Rick Kelly | Nissan Altima | 1'05.9948 | 0.4313 |
8 | 14 | Tim Slade | Holden Commodore VF | 1'05.9953 | 0.4318 |
9 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Holden Commodore VF | 1'06.0647 | 0.5012 |
10 | 34 | James Moffat | Holden Commodore VF | 1'06.0713 | 0.5078 |
11 | 55 | Chaz Mostert | Ford Falcon FG-X | 1'06.1008 | 0.5373 |
12 | 22 | James Courtney | Holden Commodore VF | 1'06.1150 | 0.5515 |
13 | 21 | Tim Blanchard | Holden Commodore VF | 1'06.1355 | 0.5720 |
14 | 6 | Cameron Waters | Ford Falcon FG-X | 1'06.1394 | 0.5759 |
15 | 33 | Garth Tander | Holden Commodore VF | 1'06.2251 | 0.6616 |
16 | 7 | Todd Kelly | Nissan Altima | 1'06.2424 | 0.6789 |
17 | 18 | Lee Holdsworth | Holden Commodore VF | 1'06.2616 | 0.6981 |
18 | 8 | Nick Percat | Holden Commodore VF | 1'06.2861 | 0.7226 |
19 | 2 | Scott Pye | Holden Commodore VF | 1'06.3863 | 0.8228 |
20 | 5 | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Falcon FG-X | 1'06.3901 | 0.8266 |
21 | 56 | Jason Bright | Ford Falcon FG-X | 1'06.4000 | 0.8365 |
22 | 4 | Macauley Jones | Holden Commodore VF | 1'06.4548 | 0.8913 |
23 | 28 | Jack Le Brocq | Nissan Altima | 1'06.5724 | 1.0089 |
24 | 62 | Alex Rullo | Holden Commodore VF | 1'06.6094 | 1.0459 |
25 | 78 | Simona de Silvestro | Nissan Altima | 1'06.6206 | 1.0571 |
26 | 19 | Will Davison | Holden Commodore VF | 1'06.7426 | 1.1791 |
27 | 99 | Dale Wood | Holden Commodore VF | 1'06.7671 | 1.2036 |
28 | 3 | Cameron McConville | Holden Commodore VF | 1'06.8875 | 1.3240 |
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