Scott McLaughlin has scored his first Championship race win for Volvo in the first race of the Perth 400.
The young Kiwi started on ARMOR ALL Pole Position – his fourth pole for the season – with Craig Lowndes alongside.
With Russell Ingall behind, McLaughlin was swamped by the more experienced at the start of the race. But after jumping Lowndes in a mid-race pit stop, the ‘blue beast’ raced all the way to the chequered flag in the first 100km race at Barbagallo Raceway.
“Old mate upstairs wasn’t helping me, something went wrong with the exhaust and I thought it dropped on seven cylinders there!” McLaughlin said after getting out of his S60.
“Mum and Dad have been massive supporters, and my sister as well, they’ve kept my feet on the ground… I have an awesome family and team behind me.
“Fantastic… I’m not going to swear on TV again!”
It was all about tyres, with most of the field pitting for fresh rubber at the abrasive circuit. Shane van Gisbergen and Jack Perkins stayed out, but the gamble didn’t pay off, particularly for the TEKNO driver who finished last.
Fabian Coulthard, who was the quickest man in practice yesterday, emerged in second.
“We had to work for it – good job to my Kiwi bro Scotty,” he said.
“We had a good side-by-side run the first few laps… it’s been not a bad day.”
And while it looked as if Mark Winterbottom would take third, teammate Chaz Mostert jumped him for the podium, his second consecutive after finishing third in the final race in New Zealand.
“It’s fantastic, something with me and threes – coming off Pukekohe and here for another podium is awesome,” Pepsi Max’s Mostert said.
Lee Holdsworth finished fifth, with Lowndes, Will Davison, Todd Kelly, James Courtney and David Reynolds completing the top 10.
Others to note include Ingall in 11th, Jason Bright 13, Garth Tander 15, Jamie Whincup 17 and van Gisbergen 25.
Another 100km race follows in Perth at 2.30pm local time.
