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Australia
Qualifying report

Winton Supercars: McLaughlin seals pole with record lap

Scott McLaughlin gapped the Supercars field by more than half a second with a record-breaking pole lap at Winton.

Scott McLaughlin, DJR Team Penske, Fabian Coulthard, DJR Team Penske

Scott McLaughlin, DJR Team Penske, Fabian Coulthard, DJR Team Penske

Team Penske

The defending champion was in a class of his own throughout qualifying, with healthy gaps to the field in both Q2 and Q3.

His Q2 lap was a 1m18.825s, which initially put him five-tenths up on the pack, only for teammate Fabian Coulthard to reduce the deficit to three-tenths on his final run.

In the decisive Q3 portion, however, McLaughlin could make the five-tenth gap over Coulthard stick, thanks to a lap record-smashing 1m18.523s.

“That one was awesome,” he said.

“I said to the guys I really wanted to go again [for a final run] because I felt like the car had the potential to do a big number.

“When the cloud cover came over it got a bit cooler, I got through Turn 1 really good and I thought ‘far out we’re on here’.

“The guys give me an awesome car all the time. I’m just really proud to be able to drive this amazing racecar.”

Coulthard will start the race from the outside of the front row, having narrowly edged out Red Bull Holden driver Jamie Whincup for second spot.

David Reynolds will start fourth, followed by Saturday polesitter Chaz Mostert and Anton De Pasquale.

There was a trio of Tickford Mustangs next in line, Will Davison leading Lee Holdsworth and Cam Waters, while Nissan's Andre Heimgartner rounded out the Top 10.

Shane van Gisbergen will start the race down in 13th after failing to get out of Q2. The Red Bull Holden driver was one of several potential contenders to need to come through Q1, and while he did that comfortably with his final run, he couldn't pull the same trick in Q2.

Mark Winterbottom, meanwhile, didn't even make it out of Q1, the Team 18 driver set to start from 17th.

Cla # Driver Car Time
1 17 New Zealand Scott McLaughlin Ford Mustang GT 1'18.5233
2 12 New Zealand Fabian Coulthard Ford Mustang GT 1'19.0520
3 88 Australia Jamie Whincup Holden Commodore ZB 1'19.1049
4 9 Australia David Reynolds Holden Commodore ZB 1'19.1173
5 55 Australia Chaz Mostert Ford Mustang GT 1'19.1418
6 99 Australia Anton De Pasquale Holden Commodore ZB 1'19.2447
7 23 Australia Will Davison Ford Mustang GT 1'19.2712
8 5 Australia Lee Holdsworth Ford Mustang GT 1'19.4164
9 6 Australia Cameron Waters Ford Mustang GT 1'19.4972
10 7 New Zealand Andre Heimgartner Nissan Altima 1'19.6424
11 8 Australia Nick Percat Holden Commodore ZB 1'19.5221
12 15 Australia Rick Kelly Nissan Altima 1'19.5298
13 97 New Zealand Shane van Gisbergen Holden Commodore ZB 1'19.5390
14 2 Australia Scott Pye Holden Commodore ZB 1'19.6536
15 22 Australia James Courtney Holden Commodore ZB 1'19.7371
16 34 Australia James Golding Holden Commodore ZB 1'19.9009
17 18 Australia Mark Winterbottom Holden Commodore ZB 1'19.9224
18 21 Australia Macauley Jones Holden Commodore ZB 1'19.9281
19 14 Australia Tim Slade Holden Commodore ZB 1'19.9502
20 35 Australia Todd Hazelwood Holden Commodore ZB 1'19.9755
21 3 Australia Garry Jacobson Nissan Altima 1'20.0922
22 78 Switzerland Simona de Silvestro Nissan Altima 1'20.1829
23 4 United States Jack Smith Holden Commodore ZB 1'20.4509
24 19 Australia Jack Le Brocq Holden Commodore ZB 1'20.4572
25 33 New Zealand Chris Pither Holden Commodore ZB 1'20.7695

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Edition

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