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Phillip Island Supercars: McLaughlin charges to Race 1 pole

Scott McLaughlin led a DJR Team Penske 1-2 in qualifying for today’s opening Supercars race at Phillip Island.

Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske Ford

Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske Ford

DJR Team Penske

Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske Ford
Fabian Coulthard, Team Penske Ford
Shane van Gisbergen, Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden
Mark Winterbottom, Prodrive Racing Australia Ford
Chaz Mostert, Rod Nash Racing Ford
Jamie Whincup, Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden

The Kiwi wasted little time getting down to business, going top with a 1m29.712s on his first flying lap, to that point six-tenths clear of the rest of the field.

He was briefly displaced by teammate Fabian Coulthard’s 1m29.482s midway through the session, McLaughlin hitting back immediately with a 1m29.388s.

That time came down to a 1m29.363s on the final run, securing a lap record-breaking pole ahead of Coulthard, who failed to improve on his last lap but still finished second.

“I love this place as much as the penguins,” said McLaughlin.

“The car was fantastic there, we just had a crack and it was so much fun. It’s great for the team, Fabs is right there next to me, so it’ll be a fun run to Turn 1.”

Shane van Gisbergen was best of the non-Penske cars, grabbing third on his final run with a 1m29.644s. Mark Winterbottom was next with 1m29.770s set on his second run midway through the session.

“That feels like a pole for me, I’ve had a tough run this year,” said Winterbottom. “I knew once we got the car right and all the issues sorted we could be competitive. That’s a massive confidence boost for me. The other guys are fast, but we’re catching them.”

Winterbottom’s Prodrive Racing teammate Chaz Mostert was fifth quickest, failing to match his practice pace from yesterday, while Jamie Whincup was the last of the drivers in the 1m29s back in sixth.

Cam Waters capped off a good session for Prodrive with seventh, ahead of David Reynolds, James Courtney, and Tim Slade.

Rick Kelly was the best of the Nissans in 11th, while Craig Lowndes qualified 15th after missing all of yesterday’s second practice session after his crash earlier in the day.

ClaDriverCarTimeGap
1 17 new_zealand  Scott McLaughlin  Ford Falcon FG-X 1'29.3632  
2 12 new_zealand  Fabian Coulthard  Ford Falcon FG-X 1'29.4820 0.1188
3 97 new_zealand  Shane van Gisbergen  Holden Commodore VF 1'29.6445 0.2813
4 5 australia  Mark Winterbottom  Ford Falcon FG-X 1'29.7708 0.4076
5 55 australia  Chaz Mostert  Ford Falcon FG-X 1'29.8323 0.4691
6 88 australia  Jamie Whincup  Holden Commodore VF 1'29.8524 0.4892
7 6 australia  Cameron Waters  Ford Falcon FG-X 1'30.0147 0.6515
8 9 australia  David Reynolds  Holden Commodore VF 1'30.1000 0.7368
9 22 australia  James Courtney  Holden Commodore VF 1'30.1139 0.7507
10 14 australia  Tim Slade  Holden Commodore VF 1'30.1432 0.7800
11 15 australia  Rick Kelly  Nissan Altima 1'30.2552 0.8920
12 18 australia  Lee Holdsworth  Holden Commodore VF 1'30.3193 0.9561
13 2 australia  Scott Pye  Holden Commodore VF 1'30.3893 1.0261
14 7 australia  Todd Kelly  Nissan Altima 1'30.3913 1.0281
15 888 australia  Craig Lowndes  Holden Commodore VF 1'30.4005 1.0373
16 34 australia  James Moffat  Holden Commodore VF 1'30.4268 1.0636
17 19 australia  Will Davison  Holden Commodore VF 1'30.4962 1.1330
18 23 australia  Michael Caruso  Nissan Altima 1'30.5271 1.1639
19 8 australia  Nick Percat  Holden Commodore VF 1'30.5400 1.1768
20 33 australia  Garth Tander  Holden Commodore VF 1'30.5516 1.1884
21 56 australia  Jason Bright  Ford Falcon FG-X 1'30.5728 1.2096
22 99 australia  Dale Wood  Holden Commodore VF 1'30.5878 1.2246
23 78 switzerland  Simona de Silvestro  Nissan Altima 1'30.8237 1.4605
24 21 australia  Tim Blanchard  Holden Commodore VF 1'31.0498 1.6866
25 62 australia  Alex Rullo  Holden Commodore VF 1'31.8221 2.4589
26 3 australia  Taz Douglas  Holden Commodore VF 1'32.1311 2.7679

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