Bathurst 1000: McLaughlin lowers Mount Panorama lap record
Scott McLaughlin beat his own Mount Panorama lap record with a rapid 2m03.772s in the third practice session for the Bathurst 1000.
Scott McLaughlin, DJR Team Penske Ford Mustang
Supercars
The runaway series leader came into the day as the only driver to have lapped the famous circuit under the 2m04s barrier, thanks to his famous Shootout lap, a 2m03.831s, from 2017.
With the front-running primary drivers well into the mid-2m04s in this morning's opening practice, qualifying simulations were expected to yield something special in the evening session.
And that's exactly what happened, McLaughlin doing the fastest ever Supercars lap around Mount Panorama with a 2m03.772s – despite only running two green tyres on the right side of the car.
“You’re hanging on over the top now, it’s unbelievable the grip of the cars and I think everyone is having a full dip,” said McLaughlin.
“The second last corner, I dropped a wheel there. That was a moment and a half because I kept my foot into it. I’m an idiot, I’ve got to remember it’s Thursday!
“There’s a little bit here and there, the green side of the car felt alright, so the left-handers were pretty good, but the right-handers it’s still a little bit loose.
“We’ll tune it up overnight and throw a set of greens on it tomorrow and see, if it doesn’t rain.”
A total of four drivers have now broken the 2m04s mark thanks to that session, Jamie Whincup ending up 0.15s shy of McLaughlin with a 2m03.932s.
Tickford Racing pair Cam Waters and Will Davison made it into the threes as well, the former with a 2m03.949s and the latter a 2m03.991s.
Practice continues with an hour-long co-driver session starting at 8:25am tomorrow.
Third practice results:
Cla | Driver | Car | Time |
---|---|---|---|
1 |
Scott McLaughlin
Alexandre Prémat |
Ford Mustang GT | 2'03.7728 |
2 |
Jamie Whincup
Craig Lowndes |
Holden Commodore ZB | 2'03.9327 |
3 |
Cameron Waters
Michael Caruso |
Ford Mustang GT | 2'03.9490 |
4 |
Will Davison
Alex Davison |
Ford Mustang GT | 2'03.9918 |
5 |
Chaz Mostert
James Moffat |
Ford Mustang GT | 2'04.0622 |
6 |
Lee Holdsworth
Thomas Randle |
Ford Mustang GT | 2'04.0673 |
7 |
Fabian Coulthard
Tony D'Alberto |
Ford Mustang GT | 2'04.1348 |
8 |
Shane van Gisbergen
Garth Tander |
Holden Commodore ZB | 2'04.150 |
9 |
Anton De Pasquale
Will Brown |
Holden Commodore ZB | 2'04.3315 |
10 |
Rick Kelly
Dale Wood |
Nissan Altima | 2'04.4975 |
11 |
Tim Slade
|
Holden Commodore ZB | 2'04.5245 |
12 |
James Courtney
Jack Perkins |
Holden Commodore ZB | 2'04.5398 |
13 |
Andre Heimgartner
Bryce Fullwood |
Nissan Altima | 2'04.6028 |
14 |
Mark Winterbottom
Steven Richards |
Holden Commodore ZB | 2'04.7099 |
15 |
James Golding
Richard Muscat |
Holden Commodore ZB | 2'04.7188 |
16 |
Garry Jacobson
Dean Fiore |
Nissan Altima | 2'04.7546 |
17 |
Nick Percat
Tim Blanchard |
Holden Commodore ZB | 2'04.8205 |
18 |
Todd Hazelwood
Jack Smith |
Holden Commodore ZB | 2'05.1352 |
19 |
Richie Stanaway
Chris Pither |
Holden Commodore ZB | 2'05.2452 |
20 |
Scott Pye
Warren Luff |
Holden Commodore ZB | 2'05.2683 |
21 |
Simona de Silvestro
Alex Rullo |
Nissan Altima | 2'05.7410 |
22 |
Macauley Jones
Dean Canto |
Holden Commodore ZB | 2'05.8574 |
23 |
Jack Le Brocq
Jonathon Webb |
Holden Commodore ZB | 2'07.1521 |
24 |
Alexander Rossi
James Hinchliffe |
Holden Commodore ZB | 2'07.2281 |
View full results |
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