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McLaughlin: Supercars title contention ‘back in reach’

Scott McLaughlin says his 300-point weekend has given his title chances a boost, with the DJR Team Penske driver now just 31 points shy of teammate Fabian Coulthard.

Race winner Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske Ford

Race winner Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske Ford

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Race winner Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske Ford
Race winner Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske Ford
Podium: race winner Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske Ford, second place Chaz Mostert, Rod Nash Racing Ford, third place Jamie Whincup, Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden
Podium: race winner Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske Ford
Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske Ford
Race winner Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske Ford

McLaughlin came into the weekend 97 points behind his teammate and without a points-paying win in DJR Team Penske colours, but turned everything around with a clinical clean sweep on the low-grip West Aussie circuit.

Even better for McLaughlin was that Coulthard and Shane van Gisbergen finished back in seventh and sixth respectively today, allowing the #17 Ford driver to close the gap to the leaders.

He now sits fourth, level on points with Chaz Mostert, 12 behind van Gisbergen, and 31 off Coulthard.

While not getting carried away just eight races into the season, McLaughlin did concede that the wins were a timely boost if he’s to mount a genuine title challenge.

“Look I said my goal is to take points off the guys in the top four places,” said McLaughlin, “and that is what we did, so yeah absolutely it has got things nicely back into reachable stuff again.

“One hundred points back was getting a little bit annoying in some ways, obviously these guys aren’t going to be down the back too often or whatever, they are always going to be there – so we need to make sure we are there as well all the time taking as many points off them as possible.

“I think this weekend was ideal for me.”

McLaughlin added that it was extra sweet to perform so impressively with Roger Penske in town.

“There is obviously pressure when the big dog is in town,” he said. “At the end of the day it is just fantastic for all the boys to have a chance to show what they have got in front of the big boss, they really get pumped up about it.

“[The] pitstops were fantastic and I felt like as a team we really just smashed it this weekend.”

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