Mclaughlin Holds Off SVG In SMP Thriller

McLaughlin lost some weight in anticipation of making his IndyCar debut this year
McLaughlin lost some weight in anticipation of making his IndyCar debut this year

A slimmed down Scott McLaughlin has continued his winning ways – after the kiwi claimed victory in today's historic race at the BP Sydney SuperSprint.

On the Ford Mustang's debut at Sydney Motorsport Park, McLaughlin held off fellow kiwi Shane van Gisbergen to claim his second win of 2020 and 45th of his career.

Van Gisbergen's Red Bull Holden teammate Jamie Whincup was third.

McLaughlin, who started from pole, and van Gisbergen went with completely different strategies with new pit stop rules, and in the end it came down to the final corner, with McLaughlin holding on to win by 0.188 of a second.

It was the closest finish in Sydney since 1996.

The result means two-time defending Supercars Champion McLaughlin has extended his Championship lead over Whincup to 41 points heading into tomorrow's two 130km races.

Behind the top three today was Chaz Mostert who continues to impress in his early days as a Holden driver. Nick Percat was 5th ahead of Cam Waters, Lee Holdsworth, Anton De Pasquale, Mark Winterbottom and Fabian Coulthard who rounded out the top ten.

McLaughlin led start to finish
McLaughlin led start to finish

James Courtney, in his 200th career event and return to Ford, had one of the drives of the day – starting 21st and finishing 12th in his Mustang debut.

Tomorrow could be a very different story for teams, with new tire regulations meaning results may vary across the two ARMOR ALL Qualifying sessions and two 130km races. Teams will only have a limited amount of tires to use after today's sessions.

It will be a memorable day for Whincup, who will start his 500th career race, becoming just the eight driver in history to reach that mark.

Supercars return to racing at Sydney Motorsport Park on 27-28 June broadcast exclusively live on Foxtel and streamed on Kayo. Highlights on Saturday and Sunday evening on 10.

MCLAUGHLIN QUOTE:

“It was a tough last five laps, but I just did the best I could, and thankfully we came out on top."

“For me, the front tires went away; I was a bit too aggressive at the start of the first stint, so just brought it back at the start of the second stint."

“That helped me have a bit more pace to fight Shane at the end. I knew that when he got to my rear he’d have a little bit of dirty air there which would make it a bit tougher for him."

“I’m really happy today. When you have all the nice silverware and the purple board in front of you, you know it’s been a good day."

Results

POS # DRIVER TEAM TIME PTS
1 17 McLaughlin Shell V-Power Racing Team 49:59.586 100
2 97 Van Gisbergen Red Bull Holden Racing Team +0.188 92
3 88 Whincup Red Bull Holden Racing Team +9.775 86
4 25 Mostert Mobil 1 TM Appliances Online +11.076 80
5 8 Percat Dunlop Super Dealer Racing +28.329 74
6 6 C. Waters Monster Energy Racing +30.799 68
7 5 Holdsworth Truck Assist Racing +31.755 64
8 99 A. de Pasquale Penrite Racing +31.784 60
9 18 Winterbottom IRWIN Racing +32.671 56
10 12 Coulthard Shell V-Power Racing Team +35.239 52
11 14 T. Hazelwood Brut Military Grade +36.281 48
12 44 Courtney Boost Mobile Racing +43.981 46
13 2 B. Fullwood Mobil 1 TM Middy's Racing +43.990 44
14 15 R. Kelly Castrol Racing +48.283 42
15 7 Heimgartner NED Whisky Racing +48.439 40
16 35 G. Jacobson Yellow Cover Racing +50.844 38
17 20 S. Pye DEWALT Racing +51.060 36
18 3 M. Jones Team CoolDrive +51.410 34
19 55 J. Le Brocq Supercheap Auto Racing +51.889 32
20 22 C. Pither Team SYDNEY +1:02.035 30
21 9 Reynolds Penrite Racing +1:22.383 28
22 34 J. Kostecki UNIT Racing +1:24.171 26
23 4 J. Smith SCT Motor Sports +1 Lap 24
NC 19 A. Davison Local Legends Racing +20 Laps 0