Sydney Supercars: McLaughlin beats Holdsworth in finale

Starting from pole, McLaughlin made light work of the first stint, his advantage over Jamie Whincup blowing out to as much as five seconds.

That changed, at least briefly, around the stops, Whincup pitting on Lap 13 for two tyres, before McLaughlin followed suit for four tyres a lap later.

The longer stop meant McLaughlin's gap to Whincup was cut down to around a second, however the reigning champion was quickly able to use his better tyre condition to pull away.

Holdsworth, meanwhile, was even better positioned in terms of rubber having only taken two tyres on during Races 1 and 2. 

The Tickford driver ran deep into the first stint, taking on four new boots on Lap 18. He emerged at the back of the Top 10 and around 10s off the lead, but could quickly cut his way through the field.

But the tyre advantage wasn't quite enough for Holdsworth to get to McLaughlin, the pair separated by 1.5s at the finish.

“The car was so much better on its tyres that race," said McLaughlin. 

"I think when everyone sort of evened out with the tyres and where we were, to be able to show our true pace over the long run was really cool. We just got into a rhythm and got going."

Whincup finished a lonely third, with David Reynolds more than 10 seconds further back in fourth.

Shane van Gisbergen struggled for pace, finishing sixth behind Mark Winterbottom, with Anton De Pasquale and Todd Hazelwood right on his hammer. 

Race 2 winner Nick Percat and Bryce Fullwood rounded out the Top 10.

There was just a single DNF, Fabian Coulthard's Penske Ford rolling to a stop on the penultimate lap.

McLaughlin now leads the series by 49 points over Whincup. 

Race 3 results:

Cla	Driver	Car	Time
1	Scott McLaughlin	Ford Mustang GT	50'20.267
2	Lee Holdsworth	Ford Mustang GT	50'21.787
3	Jamie Whincup	Holden Commodore ZB	50'31.518
4	David Reynolds	Holden Commodore ZB	50'44.696
5	Mark Winterbottom	Holden Commodore ZB	50'45.915
6	Shane van Gisbergen	Holden Commodore ZB	50'46.785
7	Anton De Pasquale	Holden Commodore ZB	50'47.217
8	Todd Hazelwood	Holden Commodore ZB	50'47.396
9	Nick Percat	Holden Commodore ZB	50'48.264
10	Bryce Fullwood	Holden Commodore ZB	50'49.016
11	Jack Le Brocq	Ford Mustang GT	50'52.126
12	Scott Pye	Holden Commodore ZB	50'55.915
13	Cameron Waters	Ford Mustang GT	50'57.127
14	James Courtney	Ford Mustang GT	50'57.729
15	Andre Heimgartner	Ford Mustang GT	51'00.890
16	Chaz Mostert	Holden Commodore ZB	51'04.022
17	Rick Kelly	Ford Mustang GT	51'06.925
18	Jack Smith	Holden Commodore ZB	51'07.283
19	Garry Jacobson	Holden Commodore ZB	51'08.330
20	Macauley Jones	Holden Commodore ZB	51'09.667
21	Alex Davison	Holden Commodore ZB	51'10.097
22	Jake Kostecki	Holden Commodore ZB	51'10.864
23	Chris Pither	Holden Commodore ZB	51'37.650
	Fabian Coulthard	Ford Mustang GT	49'25.287
View full results