Darwin Supercars: McLaughlin completes clean sweep
Scott McLaughlin took a third dominant win to complete a Darwin Supercars clean sweep.
The DJR Team Penske star effectively won the race at the start, using the grippier side of the front row to out-drag pole-sitter Shane van Gisbergen down to the first corner.
Once in front McLaughlin never looked back, flawlessly executing a standard strategy with a Lap 8 stop to make it three wins from three races, his margin in the final heat a whopping 13.8s.
Even better for McLaughlin was that his closest title rival Jamie Whincup was just seventh, the points gap between the two now 177.
"I love it [in Darwin]. I love the people, I love the track. And I love it when my car is like that. That's hands-down the best car I've every driven. All weekend it was so solid."
The battle for the minor placings was significantly closer, with as many as five cars in contention for the podium for much of the race.
Nick Percat effectively ran second the entire way, jumping van Gisbergen at the start. He couldn't quite shake the likes of Scott Pye and, for a while, van Gisbergen, but ultimately had enough to take a well-earned podium.
Pye finished third for the second time today, having withstood significant pressure from van Gisbergen when the Triple Eight driver – who stopped later in the race – had better tyre quality.
Pye didn't just help himself by holding off van Gisbergen, he also helped his teammate Mark Winterbottom who went deep into the race before making his stop. With the best rubber in the field for the run home, Winterbottom was able to run down Chaz Mostert and van Gisbergen to nab fourth place.
That did include a bit of contact to get by van Gisbergen, though, Winterbottom hinting after the race that he may have to face the stewards.
Van Gisbergen and Mostert finished fifth and sixth ahead of Whincup.
Darwin Supersprint - race results:
| Cla | # | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 |  Scott McLaughlin | Ford Mustang GT | |
| 2 | 8 |  Nick Percat | Holden Commodore ZB | 13.835 |
| 3 | 20 | Scott Pye | Holden Commodore ZB | 14.817 |
| 4 | 18 | Mark Winterbottom | Holden Commodore ZB | 16.423 |
| 5 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Holden Commodore ZB | 18.367 |
| 6 | 25 | Chaz Mostert | Holden Commodore ZB | 19.622 |
| 7 | 88 | Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore ZB | 19.966 |
| 8 | 7 | Andre Heimgartner | Ford Mustang GT | 20.299 |
| 9 | 99 | Anton De Pasquale | Holden Commodore ZB | 20.847 |
| 10 | 9 | David Reynolds | Holden Commodore ZB | 24.888 |
| 11 | 12 | Fabian Coulthard | Ford Mustang GT | 27.703 |
| 12 | 5 | Lee Holdsworth | Ford Mustang GT | 28.070 |
| 13 | 55 | Jack Le Brocq | Ford Mustang GT | 28.459 |
| 14 | 44 | James Courtney | Ford Mustang GT | 30.013 |
| 15 | 14 | Todd Hazelwood | Holden Commodore ZB | 33.845 |
| 16 | 35 | Garry Jacobson | Holden Commodore ZB | 34.552 |
| 17 | 2 | Bryce Fullwood | Holden Commodore ZB | 36.054 |
| 18 | 3 | Macauley Jones | Holden Commodore ZB | 39.415 |
| 19 | 22 | Chris Pither | Holden Commodore ZB | 43.344 |
| 20 | 19 | Alex Davison | Holden Commodore ZB | 44.253 |
| 21 | 34 | Zane Goddard | Holden Commodore ZB | 45.163 |
| 22 | 15 | Rick Kelly | Ford Mustang GT | 52.838 |
| 23 | 4 | Jack Smith | Holden Commodore ZB | 54.164 |
| 6 | Cameron Waters | Ford Mustang GT | ||
| View full results | ||||
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2020 Supercars Darwin Supersprint race results
About this article
| Series | Supercars |
| Event | Hidden Valley II |
| Author | Andrew van Leeuwen |
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