Ipswich Supercars: McLaughlin sets record pace in final practice
Scott McLaughlin broke his own unofficial lap record on his way to top spot in final Supercars practice at Queensland Raceway.
Scott McLaughlin, DJR Team Penske Ford Mustang
Edge Photographics
The Penske Mustang driver led the way in the early stages of the 30-minute session thanks to a 1m09.323s on his first flyer, before that time was overhauled by Tickford pair Will Davison and Chaz Mostert.
McLaughlin hit back on the 10-minute mark, breaking into the eights with a 1m08.922s on his second run.
He then returned with a fresh set of boots for the Happy Hour at the end of the session, a blistering 1m08.398s breaking his own unofficial lap record set back in 2017.
McLaughlin put the record-breaking pace down to a combination of his own driving, and a shift to a pointier set-up compared to Saturday.
"There's a bit of me, driving-wise. I had a big think overnight, just where I could improve and work the best," he said.
"The car, we needed to make it a little bit more lively for me. I don't mind it being sideways and whatever, I think it's going to help us in the race to have more turn.
"I don't care if we speedway it a little bit, if we can be a little bit loose and get me turned and pointed to go, it helps. That's certainly what we tried to do today."
Mostert ended up second, 0.23s adrift of McLaughlin, with Triple Eight drivers Jamie Whincup and Shane van Gisbergen fourth and fifth.
Will Davison kept his impressive weekend going with sixth, followed by Tickford teammate Cam Waters.
Anton De Pasquale was eighth, while two Nissans secured an automatic Q2 berth with Andre Heimgartner leading Rick Kelly.
Fabian Coulthard was left on the wrong side of the Q2 bubble, falling seven-tenths short of his teammate as he ended up 11th.
David Reynolds will need to go the long way too, the Erebus driver just 13th quickest.
Cla | # | Driver | Car | Time | Gap | Interval |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 17 | Scott McLaughlin | Ford Mustang GT | 1'08.3985 | ||
2 | 55 | Chaz Mostert | Ford Mustang GT | 1'08.6346 | 0.2361 | 0.2361 |
3 | 88 | Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'08.6549 | 0.2564 | 0.0203 |
4 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'08.7449 | 0.3464 | 0.0900 |
5 | 5 | Lee Holdsworth | Ford Mustang GT | 1'08.8052 | 0.4067 | 0.0603 |
6 | 23 | Will Davison | Ford Mustang GT | 1'08.8261 | 0.4276 | 0.0209 |
7 | 6 | Cameron Waters | Ford Mustang GT | 1'08.8349 | 0.4364 | 0.0088 |
8 | 99 | Anton De Pasquale | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'08.9428 | 0.5443 | 0.1079 |
9 | 7 | Andre Heimgartner | Nissan Altima | 1'08.9502 | 0.5517 | 0.0074 |
10 | 15 | Rick Kelly | Nissan Altima | 1'09.0435 | 0.6450 | 0.0933 |
11 | 12 | Fabian Coulthard | Ford Mustang GT | 1'09.0812 | 0.6827 | 0.0377 |
12 | 8 | Nick Percat | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'09.1335 | 0.7350 | 0.0523 |
13 | 9 | David Reynolds | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'09.1827 | 0.7842 | 0.0492 |
14 | 35 | Todd Hazelwood | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'09.1983 | 0.7998 | 0.0156 |
15 | 14 | Tim Slade | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'09.3218 | 0.9233 | 0.1235 |
16 | 22 | James Courtney | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'09.3436 | 0.9451 | 0.0218 |
17 | 18 | Mark Winterbottom | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'09.4068 | 1.0083 | 0.0632 |
18 | 34 | James Golding | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'09.4154 | 1.0169 | 0.0086 |
19 | 2 | Scott Pye | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'09.4200 | 1.0215 | 0.0046 |
20 | 33 | Michael Caruso | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'09.4222 | 1.0237 | 0.0022 |
21 | 78 | Simona de Silvestro | Nissan Altima | 1'09.4826 | 1.0841 | 0.0604 |
22 | 21 | Macauley Jones | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'09.5378 | 1.1393 | 0.0552 |
23 | 3 | Garry Jacobson | Nissan Altima | 1'09.9178 | 1.5193 | 0.3800 |
24 | 19 | Jack Le Brocq | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'10.6256 | 2.2271 | 0.7078 |
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