Scott McLaughlin claims thrilling Ipswich victory to notch 14th win of the year
Championship leader Scott McLaughlin rebounded from his race one disappointment to hold off Holden rival Shane van Gisbergen in one the closet finishes of the year.
Supercars star Scott McLaughlin has atoned for his miss in race one, clinching his 14th win of 2019 in one of the season’s closest finishes at the Ipswich SuperSprint.
McLaughlin dropped from pole to fourth on Saturday but made no mistake from the top of the grid in Sunday’s race two and led from start to finish, setting a lap record at Queensland Raceway.
But the Kiwi sensation was made to work for it as Triple Eight Racing and Holden star Shane van Gisbergen almost pipped him on the final lap.
McLaughlin extended his lead at the top of the drivers’ standing ahead of DJR Team Penske teammate Fabian Coulthard, who made a mistake on lap nine and dropped to 18th.
“That was hard, Shane pushed me the whole way, he just kept coming and coming and coming. I felt like I was driving a truck or a bus, just had no turn,” McLaughlin said.
“I just want to keep building. I am very lucky I get to drive a car like this and want to make the most of it. Credit to Shane and his boys, they are coming back as well as the Tickford guys.”
Van Gisbergen was bitterly disappointed to finish the runner-up but conceded it was a great finish to be a part of.
“I don’t like coming second but that was an awesome race. My car was awesome today, I tried as hard as I could … bloody cool,” Van Gisbergen said.
“I was worried about how we qualified but a quick tune up and we were ready to go.”
McLaughlin has won 14 of 20 races this season as his Ford Mustang continues to dominate the field.
Tickford Racing gun Chaz Mostert rounded out the podium.
McLaughlin has 39 career victories and the 26-year-old moves past Mark Winterbottom to seventh on the overall winners’ list and he has Craig Lowndes’ single-season wins record (16) in his sights with 11 races remaining in 2019.
Red Bull Holden star Jamie Whincup – who snapped a 24-race win drought on Saturday – was the last driver to win 14 races in a season, in 2014.
Originally published as Scott McLaughlin claims thrilling Ipswich victory to notch 14th win of the year
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