Albert Park Supercars: McLaughlin wins crash-affected race
Scott McLaughlin took DJR Team Penske’s first Supercars win at Albert Park, but did so behind the Safety Car after Nick Percat and Lee Holdsworth were involved in a massive shunt at Turn 1.
Photo by: Daniel Kalisz / Motorsport Images
McLaughlin started second behind teammate Fabian Coulthard, but managed to get ahead of his fellow Kiwi at Turn 4 on Lap 1 when Coulthard ran wide.
That didn’t give McLaughlin the lead, though, with Jamie Whincup jumping to the front as McLaughlin slowed to avoid Coulthard.
Whincup couldn’t stay in front for long, McLaughlin climbing all over the back of Whincup throughout the first lap before barging past early in the second. Coulthard, who recovered by shortcutting the track after running off on the first lap, followed McLaughlin through.
Once in front the two Penske Fords were unstoppable, pulling away from the field while running nose-to-tail, McLaughlin leading Coulthard. The job was then made easier when the Safety Car came out with two laps to go, the race finishing under caution.
The win wasn’t only McLaughlin’s first in DJR Team Penske, but the team’s first since being taken over by Penske two years ago.
Chaz Mostert finished third for Prodrive, having followed McLaughin and Coulthard past Whincup on Lap 2, while the #88 Triple Eight Holden finished fourth.
Michael Caruso was fifth in the Nissan, having inherited the spot when Tim Slade’s Brad Jones Racing Holden suffered a rear puncture a couple of laps from the end.
That wasn’t BJR’s biggest issue, though. Nick Percat arrived at Turn 1 on Lap 10 to find he had no front brakes, avoiding the gaggle of cars behind him by taking to the infield but then smashing into an unsuspecting Lee Holdsworth who was exiting the second part of the first corner.
Percat managed to extract himself from the wrecked Commodore unaided, but looked winded by the impact. Holdsworth also looked to have avoided any serious injury from the contact.
Behind the Top 5, series points leader Shane van Gisbergen had a pretty quiet run on his way to sixth, while James Moffat came all the way back from 14th on the grid to finish seventh in the GRM Holden. Mark Winterbottom was next in the Prodrive Ford, with Holden drivers David Reynolds and James Courtney rounding out the Top 10.
Simona de Silvestro took the best result of her short Supercars career, finishing 13th in the Nissan.
Cla | # | Driver | Car | Time | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 17 | Scott McLaughlin | Ford Falcon FG-X | 27'13.5518 | |
2 | 12 | Fabian Coulthard | Ford Falcon FG-X | 27'13.9109 | 0.3591 |
3 | 55 | Chaz Mostert | Ford Falcon FG-X | 27'14.9940 | 1.4422 |
4 | 88 | Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore VF | 27'15.8267 | 2.2749 |
5 | 23 | Michael Caruso | Nissan Altima | 27'16.0497 | 2.4979 |
6 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Holden Commodore VF | 27'18.4795 | 4.9277 |
7 | 34 | James Moffat | Holden Commodore VF | 27'18.6835 | 5.1317 |
8 | 5 | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Falcon FG-X | 27'19.7334 | 6.1816 |
9 | 9 | David Reynolds | Holden Commodore VF | 27'20.6274 | 7.0756 |
10 | 22 | James Courtney | Holden Commodore VF | 27'21.0707 | 7.5189 |
11 | 19 | Will Davison | Holden Commodore VF | 27'21.7391 | 8.1873 |
12 | 7 | Todd Kelly | Nissan Altima | 27'22.6240 | 9.0722 |
13 | 78 | Simona de Silvestro | Nissan Altima | 27'23.9523 | 10.4005 |
14 | 2 | Scott Pye | Holden Commodore VF | 27'24.8860 | 11.3342 |
15 | 99 | Dale Wood | Holden Commodore VF | 27'25.7138 | 12.1620 |
16 | 888 | Craig Lowndes | Holden Commodore VF | 27'26.9844 | 13.4326 |
17 | 21 | Tim Blanchard | Holden Commodore VF | 27'27.8061 | 14.2543 |
18 | 3 | Taz Douglas | Holden Commodore VF | 27'28.4208 | 14.8690 |
19 | 6 | Cameron Waters | Ford Falcon FG-X | 27'29.0468 | 15.4950 |
20 | 62 | Alex Rullo | Holden Commodore VF | 27'30.6093 | 17.0575 |
21 | 56 | Jason Bright | Ford Falcon FG-X | 27'31.9342 | 18.3824 |
DNF | 15 | Rick Kelly | Nissan Altima | 21'57.5995 | 2 laps |
DNF | 18 | Lee Holdsworth | Holden Commodore VF | 22'05.5295 | 2 laps |
DNF | 8 | Nick Percat | Holden Commodore VF | 22'06.6069 | 2 laps |
DNF | 14 | Tim Slade | Holden Commodore VF | 17'48.5688 | 4 laps |
DNF | 33 | Garth Tander | Holden Commodore VF | 22'32.9829 | 10 laps |
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