IndyCar: Former Supercars champion Marcos Ambrose warns Scott McLaughlin of “cutthroat” US
Marcos Ambrose was the last Supercars ace to try his hand at cracking the US racing scene and he has some advice for Scott McLaughlin.
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Marcos Ambrose has warned Scott McLaughlin racing in the United States is cutthroat and “mediocre” is not accepted as the departing Supercars champion makes the leap to full-time IndyCar challenger.
But the two-time Supercars champion is backing his friend McLaughlin to “make it stick” in the US open-wheel series where he will race for Team Penske from 2021.
The last Supercars driver to try his luck as a full-time racer in the US — in the NASCAR series — Ambrose said McLaughlin deserved his chance overseas, but warned the transition from the Australian V8s could be a challenge.
“He certainly deserves a shot. He has done great here the last few years … so he has got as good a chance as anybody to make it stick in the States,” Ambrose said.
“For me, it was a really tough environment. The American environment is cutthroat.
“It’s all about speed and winning and ability and there are a lot of fantastic American drivers out there that have grown up racing in my sport, which is NASCAR, oval-racing and heavy, high-powered, under-grip race cars.
“So I found it really tough to just be on the track, but to make it work at the level that was required, but I got there.
“He is going to be racing against guys there that are as good as anyone in the world. IndyCar racing has a high pedigree of open-wheel drivers from Europe and also North America, so they won’t put up with mediocre for long.
“But he has got a great chance. He is with a great team, he is the right age and he has got a great skill set and if he can group all that together, that is the magic source that you need, you need it to all come together at the right time.”
McLaughlin departs Supercars after winning three consecutive championships with DJR Team Penske, which has now reverted to Dick Johnson Racing after the American motorsport giant’s decision to pull out of Supercars.
A week after the Bathurst 1000, McLaughlin made his IndyCar race debut in the season finale at St Petersburg last month, crashing out midway through the race in Florida.
Ambrose was confident McLaughlin had chosen the right path to race in the open-wheel IndyCar series rather than the NASCAR route.
“He’s taken the path that gives him the best chance of success,” Ambrose said.
“He is driving for the best team in North American motorsport in (Team) Penske … and they have had a decades-long history of success.
“It’s a category that is dominated by road racing and that should help him make a nice smooth transition.
“First of all he just needs to prove he belongs and then he can work on winning races and championships after that.”
Ambrose made the move to race NASCAR in 2006 as a two-time Supercars champion and returned to race one final year in Australia with DJR Team Penske in 2015.
The former Ford ace said the spotlight was magnified in the US.
“You have got more TV, more crowds, more races,” Ambrose said.
“The population is bigger … there is more money involved, more sponsors, so everything just gets magnified.
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“But he will just take in his stride, I would think, because he’s used to it here, he has been winning races and championships and is on top of the pile.
“He’s doing it right, he has made every good step. He has put himself in a great position in his own life, he’s quite stable, he’s a very grounded guy and he’s quite humble.
“He has delivered on the track and he has shown he has got the speed and ability to win races and championships and he has aligned himself with the best in the business with Penske. He’s ticked all the boxes so it’s just down to timing and himself to apply himself and hopefully he puts it all together.”
Originally published as IndyCar: Former Supercars champion Marcos Ambrose warns Scott McLaughlin of “cutthroat” US
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