Scott McLaughlin all smiles as Mustang proves its might in qualifying for Adelaide 500
The Ford Mustang announced itself as a force when Scott McLaughlin blitzed Holden to score an emphatic qualifying win at the Adelaide 500.
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The Mustang might just become a Commodore killer.
Following on from an out-of-the-box pre-season flyer, the famous Ford announced itself as a first-up force when Scott McLaughlin blitzed Holden to score an emphatic qualifying win at the Adelaide 500.
Returning to the grid for the first time in 33 years, four of the six Mustangs finished the first qualifying session of the season in the top 10 to fire a warning shot at the Commodore.
Starting his mission to win back-to-back titles in the all new Ford, DJR-Penske star McLaughlin clocked a 1.19.59 to dismiss any doubts that the Mustang would not be as good as his championship winning Falcon.
“I have to thank everyone at Ford Performance,’’ McLaughlin said.
“And all the Ford teams. They have all been great and the Mustang was just great for me today. Everything feels really good.’’
Bouncing back from his Thursday engine failure, McLaughlin won the first practice session of the day before showing his true speed in qualifying.
The Mustang looked at home on the scorching hot track with Adelaide hitting 41 degrees.
“I was really happy with the car,’’ McLaughlin said. “But I think there is still some tuning to do to get some more. I am looking forward to the shoot-out. It should be good.’’
The Mustangs dominated the day with Fabian Coulthard winning the second Friday practice session before clocking the third fastest time in qualifying.
Coulthard claimed the new car better suits is driving style.
“It’s all about knowing what you’ve got,” Coulthard said.
“I just needed to get a bit of confidence back, that’s definitely the way to do it. The car’s been good all weekend, we’ve been there or thereabouts, I just need to do it when it counts.”
Jamie Whincup lead the charge for Holden with the Red Bull Holden Racing Team driver finishing just 0.05 seconds behind McLaughlin to land second.
Whincup’s teammate Shane van Gisbergen also showed good pace in the blistering Adelaide heat to land a spot in today’s top ten.
Van Gisbergen will be out for revenge on Saturday when he looks to hit back following his last race championship defeat to McLaughlin last year.
“It was bloody hot out there,’’ van Gisbergen said.
“Those conditions were tough but at least we are getting somewhere. The car is getting better and better. We had a decent run out there and it would have been better if I wasn’t held up.
“We have another session to tune it up tomorrow before heading into the shoot-out.’’
Tickford Racing top-gun Chaz Mostert was one of only two Mustangs that failed to make the top-ten. Mostert finished with the 12th fastest time while Lee Holdsworth (14th) also missed out on a shoot-out spot.
“It would have been better to be in the top ten,’’ Mostert said. “But it is better than being in last. The track keep on getting faster and faster but we just couldn’t get it done.’’
The field could be forced to endure cabin temperatures in excess of 70 degrees today with the Adelaide heatwave expected to continue for the first 250km race.
Originally published as Scott McLaughlin all smiles as Mustang proves its might in qualifying for Adelaide 500
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