New Zealand’s Scott McLaughlin produced a masterclass in defensive driving to finish second in Saturday’s V8 Supercars race in Winton and take the lead in the championship.
The 22-year-old held off a pack of cars faster than his Volvo, to further enhance his chances of winning this year’s championship.
It was the first time a Volvo car had led the championship since 1985.
McLaughlin has 984 points, 21 ahead of Jamie Whincup and 30 more than Craig Lowndes.
For Slade, it was his maiden victory in the category.
He benefited from starting the race on pole position and never looked like losing his grip on the race.
While it was a comfortable ride for Slade, in his Brad Jones Racing Holden, it was anything but for McLaughlin, who must have spent as much time looking his rear view mirrors as he did on the road ahead.
McLaughlin got off to a flyer when the lights turned green, jumping from fourth to second place by the first corner of the race.
He along with Slade went in for their pit stops early and on lap 20 McLaughlin had reigning champion Mark Winterbottom and Rick Kelly breathing down his neck and putting pressure on the Kiwi at every corner.
It took immense concentration from McLaughlin to keep Winterbottom and the others at bay. At this point Fabian Coulthard was leading the race, but this was only because he hadn’t yet taken his compulsory pit stop, while Slade was second.
By lap 25, Whincup joined the procession of cars behind McLaughlin.
Coulthard eventually dropped into the pits on lap 29 and came out again in 20th space, with the hope that a safety car could work in his favour not eventuating.
Other cars joined the train behind McLaughlin, but he never gave any of them even half a chance of making an overtaking manoeuvre and he was able to keep his second spot on the podium.
For the 30-year-old Slade, who has been in the category since 2009, it was an emotional experience to finally win a race in his 227th attempt.
“Finally, finally!” signed a relieved Slade afterwards.
“Man, what a feeling. I got out the car and didn’t know what to do, I’ve watched it plenty of times.
“That’s awesome I can’t thank everyone at BJR enough. You’ve got to be in the right situation in this sport, with the right equipment and it finally feels like I got that opportunity again.
“Thanks for everyone, this is a pretty crazy feeling.”
Slade has rarely had the opportunity to drive one of the fastest cars in V8 Supercars and has mostly been a driver battling in the middle of the pack.
“I’ve done it pretty tough on the money front,” he said.
“Dad and the family put in every single cent they could possibly put in and I’ve had lots of backers along the way.”
While it was a superb drive from McLaughlin, he was more interested in congratulating Slade afterwards.
“Tim is a good mate of mine and he’s finally got a win, that’s awesome to see and I’m so stoked for him,” he said.
“Our guys have got to tune our car up, but I’m so stoked I’ve been able to get another podium and we’re going alright.”
