The Bend Supercars: McLaughlin pips Mostert in P2
Scott McLaughlin pipped Chaz Mostert by just under a tenth in the second Supercars practice session at The Bend.
McLaughlin ran green tyres quite early in the session, the benchmark time – a 1m15.201s – coming just eight minutes in to the half-hour hit-out.
He then went for a second qualifying simulation later in the session, but despite a purple first sector was unable to match his earlier time.
"That's one thing we've brought on since Townsville," said McLaughlin about running two sets of greens. "We need to get comfortable with our qualifying, knowing that we need to qualify at the front and that's half our job done.
"Overall I'm really happy, the car was really balanced. I'm really enjoying the new circuit, the West circuit is enjoyable. It's a new challenge."
Mostert ended up second by just 0.09s, his time also coming earlier in the session after he ran wide at the last corner on his final qualifying sim.
Fabian Coulthard was third fastest followed by Bryce Fullwood, Anton De Pasquale and Nick Percat.
It was a quiet showing from the Triple Eight Holdens, meanwhile, title contender Whincup the best of the Red Bull cars down in eighth.
Shane van Gisbergen was just 17th quickest, a lock-up late in the session proving costly.
| Cla | # | Driver | Time | Gap | Interval |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 |  Scott McLaughlin | 1'15.201 | ||
| 2 | 25 |  Chaz Mostert | 1'15.293 | 0.092 | 0.092 |
| 3 | 12 | Fabian Coulthard | 1'15.346 | 0.145 | 0.053 |
| 4 | 2 | Bryce Fullwood | 1'15.410 | 0.209 | 0.063 |
| 5 | 20 | Scott Pye | 1'15.461 | 0.260 | 0.050 |
| 6 | 99 | Anton De Pasquale | 1'15.525 | 0.323 | 0.063 |
| 7 | 8 | Nick Percat | 1'15.536 | 0.335 | 0.011 |
| 8 | 88 | Jamie Whincup | 1'15.586 | 0.385 | 0.050 |
| 9 | 14 | Todd Hazelwood | 1'15.599 | 0.397 | 0.012 |
| 10 | 7 | Andre Heimgartner | 1'15.625 | 0.424 | 0.026 |
| 11 | 55 | Jack Le Brocq | 1'15.655 | 0.453 | 0.029 |
| 12 | 15 | Rick Kelly | 1'15.694 | 0.493 | 0.039 |
| 13 | 5 | Lee Holdsworth | 1'15.721 | 0.520 | 0.026 |
| 14 | 44 | James Courtney | 1'15.756 | 0.555 | 0.035 |
| 15 | 18 | Mark Winterbottom | 1'15.786 | 0.585 | 0.029 |
| 16 | 6 | Cameron Waters | 1'15.804 | 0.602 | 0.017 |
| 17 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | 1'15.859 | 0.658 | 0.055 |
| 18 | 3 | Macauley Jones | 1'15.865 | 0.663 | 0.005 |
| 19 | 9 | David Reynolds | 1'15.883 | 0.681 | 0.017 |
| 20 | 4 | Jack Smith | 1'15.976 | 0.774 | 0.093 |
| 21 | 34 | Jake Kostecki | 1'15.978 | 0.777 | 0.002 |
| 22 | 19 | Alex Davison | 1'16.019 | 0.818 | 0.041 |
| 23 | 22 | Chris Pither | 1'16.101 | 0.899 | 0.081 |
| 24 | 35 | Garry Jacobson | 1'16.105 | 0.904 | 0.004 |
| View full results | |||||
The Bend Supercars: Courtney fastest in first practice
The Bend Supercars: McLaughlin takes pole, Whincup 14th
Why Courtney and Tickford are a dream match
James Courtney has been around the block in his motorsport career it's fair to say. After a single-seater career cut short, he's won everything there is to win in Supercars. Following a rocky ride recently in the Australian category, he's found a happy hunting ground with Tickford Racing.
How taming his temper shaped Supercars' slow-burn star
His decision to leave Brad Jones Racing was the biggest shock of the Australian Supercars silly season so far. But for Nick Percat, it comes as the culmination of a personal journey that has made him into one of the most rounded drivers in the series, now in search of a seat that can make him a champion
Why replacing Supercars' GOAT with a teenager is worth the risk for T8
On the face of it, picking an 18-year-old rookie to replace arguably the greatest Supercars driver of all time is a risky move. But as Jamie Whincup takes up a team principal role and hands his car to Broc Feeney, it's one that he is confident will be rewarded in the fullness of time - time which wasn't afforded to Whincup in his early days
How Randle went from fighting cancer to battling for Supercars contention
After his fledgling career was paused by a battle with testicular cancer, Thomas Randle then had to wrestle with finding a drive in Supercars after he got the all-clear. It's been a long road for the Melbourne native but, after two lengthy battles, he's finally got a full-time drive to look forward to
How crisis talks over Supercars’ Gen3 future could leave it without a paddle
With Supercars’ Gen3 era on the horizon, a shift is set to take place – in more ways than one – but, as has become clear in recent weeks, the plan to bin the stick and use paddles with electronic assisted shift has been met with fierce opposition
Can DJR still be a Supercars powerhouse after Penske?
Roger Penske's whirlwind Australian Supercars sojourn is over. After six seasons, three drivers' titles, three teams' championships and a Bathurst 1000 crown, The Captain has sold his controlling stake in Dick Johnson Racing back to the squad and walked away from the category.
Can Whincup be Triple Eight's ruthless leader?
Supercars' most successful team of the past 15 years is set for a radical shakeup next year when Jamie Whincup retires from driving and takes over the reins at Triple Eight. But does he have what it takes to be the new Roland Dane?
How a lifetime Supercars deal broke down in one year
David Reynolds inked what was effectively a lifetime deal with Erebus in 2019 – only to walk out a year later. What went wrong?