Penske driver McLaughlin breaks Bathurst record again, Whincup crashes

Scott McLaughlin in the Penske Ford Mustang
Scott McLaughlin in the Penske Ford Mustang

Scott McLaughlin made it two record-breaking Bathurst laps in two days, while Jamie Whincup crashed out of an eventful practice session this morning at the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.

In an eventful practice session ahead of this afternoon's ARMOR ALL Qualifying, Richie Stanaway crashed near the top of the mountain before Whincup’s car became collateral damage.

The next car in the queue, Mark Winterbottom, narrowly avoided becoming part of the carnage.

Before the drama, McLaughlin narrowly missed besting his 2:03.7728 from Thursday afternoon at the midway point of Practice 5.

He then did raise the bar 10 minutes later with a remarkable 2:03.4813 to set a new benchmark for the fastest Supercars lap around Bathurst.

David Reynolds had been on track for a lap to challenge the #17 Shell V-Power Racing Mustang, 0.09s shy at the second sector, until the session was stopped.

Andre Heimgartner the only driver other than McLaughlin to post a sub-2:04 time.

Cameron Waters, Reynolds and Fabian Coulthard completed the top five as the session ended early when IndyCar wildcard Alexander Rossi found a sand trap with four minutes remaining. One thing is for certain, the backmarker IndyCar drivers are going to go home to the USA with their tails between their legs and looking quite inferior in every aspect.

Qualifying which will determine just who reaches tomorrow's famed Top Ten Shootout will begin at 4:00pm local time.

Practice 5 Results

Pos Num Team/Sponsor Driver(s) Car Time
1 17 Shell V-Power Racing Team Scott McLaughlin Ford Mustang GT 2:03.4813
2 7 Plus Fitness Racing Andre Heimgartner Nissan Altima 2:03.9853
3 6 Monster Energy Racing Team Cameron Waters Ford Mustang GT 2:04.0248
4 9 Penrite Racing David Reynolds Holden Commodore ZB 2:04.1919
5 12 Shell V-Power Racing Team Fabian Coulthard Ford Mustang GT 2:04.2325
6 97 Red Bull Holden Racing Team Shane van Gisbergen Holden Commodore ZB 2:04.2852
7 5 The Bottle-O Racing Team Lee Holdsworth Ford Mustang GT 2:04.3370
8 2 Mobil 1 Racing Scott Pye Holden Commodore ZB 2:04.4820
9 99 Penrite Racing Anton De Pasquale Holden Commodore ZB 2:04.5004
10 34 Boost Mobile Racing James Golding Holden Commodore ZB 2:04.5240
11 18 Irwin Racing Mark Winterbottom Holden Commodore ZB 2:04.6103
12 15 Castrol Racing Rick Kelly Nissan Altima 2:04.6298
13 55 Supercheap Auto Racing Chaz Mostert Ford Mustang GT 2:04.7297
14 3 RABBLE.club Racing Garry Jacobson Nissan Altima 2:04.7547
15 35 Bigmate Racing Todd Hazelwood Holden Commodore ZB 2:04.8433
16 33 Boost Mobile Racing Richie Stanaway Holden Commodore ZB 2:04.8815
17 888 Red Bull Holden Racing Team Jamie Whincup Holden Commodore ZB 2:04.9580
18 8 7-Eleven Mobil Racing Nick Percat Holden Commodore ZB 2:05.0038
19 22 Mobil 1 Racing James Courtney Holden Commodore ZB 2:05.2185
20 23 Milwaukee Racing W.Davison/A.Davison Ford Mustang GT 2:05.2555
21 78 Team Harvey Norman Simona De Silvestro Nissan Altima 2:05.2664
22 14 Freightliner Alliance Racing Tim Slade Holden Commodore ZB 2:05.7105
23 56 Team Arcoweld Racing Brodie Kostecki Holden Commodore ZB 2:06.1389
24 21 Team CoolDrive Macauley Jones Holden Commodore ZB 2:06.2179
25 27 NAPA Auto Parts Racing Alexander Rossi Holden Commodore ZB 2:06.3885
26 19 Truck Assist TEKNO Racing J.Le Brocq/J.Webb Holden Commodore ZB 2:06.8144