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