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Scott McLaughlin makes Bathurst history in shootout brilliance

SCOTT McLaughlin has pulled everyone from their seats with a stunning piece of Bathurst history to thwart the competition.

Alex BlairAlex Blair
@alexblair_1
7 min read
October 7, 2017 - 8:24PM
BATHURST, NEW SOUTH WALES - OCTOBER 07: Scott McLaughlin drives the #17 Shell V-Power Racing Team Ford Falcon FGX during practice ahead of this weekend's Bathurst 1000, which is part of the Supercars Championship at Mount Panorama on October 7, 2017 in Bathurst, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images)
BATHURST, NEW SOUTH WALES - OCTOBER 07: Scott McLaughlin drives the #17 Shell V-Power Racing Team Ford Falcon FGX during practice ahead of this weekend's Bathurst 1000, which is part of the Supercars Championship at Mount Panorama on October 7, 2017 in Bathurst, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images)

Live Bathurst 1000

Pole position for the Bathurst 1000 is on the line in the top 10 shoot out.

SCOTT McLaughlin has set a brand new Bathurst lap record after breaking yesterday’s time in a killer shootout lap.

The 24-year-old has taken pole position for tomorrow’s race ahead of David Reynolds.

5:50pm

Stunning run makes Bathurst history

Can nothing stop this man.
Can nothing stop this man.

Holden gun David Reynolds overtook Mark Winterbottom’s blistering time of 2:04.49 to sit atop the shootout before Scott McLaughlin run.

Reynolds clocked in a huge 2:04.27 in his trip around the mountain and gave McLaughlin a massive task to overcome to bring home pole.

But what the youngster pulled off was nothing short of phenomenal.

The 24-year-old claimed pole position after crossing the line with a record time of 2:03:8312, the fastest a Supercar has ever completed a lap at Bathurst.

“Oh my god,” McLaughlin said over the radio as he slapped his steering wheel in elation.

“This is something I will certainly never forget. It was pretty special.

“I am going to enjoy it. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

BATHURST 1000 2017 GRID

1. Scott McLaughlin

2. David Reynolds

3. Mark Winterbottom

4. Chaz Mostert

5. Shane Van Gisbergen

6. Cameron Waters

7. Fabian Coulthard

8. Jason Bright

9. Garth Tander

10. James Courtney

5:44pm

Courtney slips up, champ thwarted

Supercars veteran Garth Tander has recorded a time of 2:05:32 in the first lap of this afternoon’s qualifying shootout.

“We didn’t get a chance to rehearse but I’m proud of the guys. (I’m) reasonably happy with that lap time,” he said.

44-year-old Jason Bright had a perfect response to Tander’s clean run, pipping his time by a hair with a 2:05:22 lap time.

James Courtney followed up with a few damning blunders in his lap, registering a time of 2:05.48 after taking a few sloppy corners heading up the mountain.

“Down the bottom I just dragged it in,” Courtney said after the lap. “Sorry to the boys.”

Red Bull star and 2016 champion Shane van Gisbergen took the lead after a blistering lap saw him conquer Mount Panorama in 2:04.66.

But Mark Winterbottom was the man to beat with a killer time of 2:04.49 in his run around the mountain.

Cameron Waters looked to be in the box seat for an upset but pulled up behind Winterbottom and van Gisbergen with a time of 2:04.68 in his lap.

All eyes were on Chaz Mostert as he blasted through his lap. The 25-year-old, who won Bathurst in 2014, clocked in a swift 2:04.58 to slot into second behind Winterbottom.

4:50pm

Bathurst flyover

Refresh yourself on Australia’s most iconic racing circuit.

Scott McLaughlin became a Supercars Immortal after registering the fastest lap ever recorded in V8 history (2.04.14). The time is under 20 seconds shy of Jenson Button’s famous lap in his F1 car in 2011, recording a blisteringly-quick 1:48:88 time around Mount Panorama.

2.30pm

Legend’s fighting words to NASCAR legend

FORD great Dick Johnson has warned American NASCAR legend Michael Andretti he may have bitten off more than he can chew in announcing his bold pans to take over the Aussie Supercars series.

Andretti Racing earlier this week announced a partnership with iconic Walkinshaw Racing outfit to create a potential Supercars superteam.

Johnson became the first Aussie Supercars owner to attract the eye of an American motorsport legend when he negotiated a partnership with billionaire Roger Penske to team up and form the DJR Team Penske unit.

Johnson told The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, it won’t come easy for Andretti.

“They’ll find coming here, nobody is pushover,” Johnson said.

“The people we have here in this sport, they’ve been around a long time.

“They’re incredibly experienced and, I believe, there’s nobody better in the world than the people who are here.”

2.15pm

Top 10 shootout qualifying order

1. Scott McLaughlin (Ford)

2. David Reynolds (Holden)

3. Chaz Mostert (Ford)

4. Cameron Waters (Ford)

5. Mark Winterbottom (Ford)

6. Fabian Coulthard (Ford)

7. Shane Van Gisbergen (Holden)

8. James Courtney (Holden)

9. Jason Bright (Ford)

10. Garth Tander (Holden)

12pm

Final practice stopped after red flag

Looking good.
Looking good.

A red flag has prematurely ended final practice ahead of Bathurst 1000 top 10 qualifying at Mount Panorama on Saturday.

The one-hour session was called off with two minutes remaining after Holden’s Taz Douglas came off turn one and was beached in the sand.

It robbed drivers not involved in Saturday’s top-10 shootout — some of them Supercars’ biggest names — of vital practice.

Holden cult hero David Reynolds reckoned nothing would matter until Sunday’s Great Race with rain predicted for the 161-lap classic.

Reynolds was fastest in Saturday’s practice, clocking 2min 04.99sec. Holden’s James Courtney (2:05.03) and defending series champion Shane van Gisbergen (2:05.19) were next best.

Reynolds has been one of the pace setters all week but wasn’t getting ahead of himself before Sunday.

“It’s probably going to be raining tomorrow so everything changes; this could be three days all for nothing,” he said.

Michael Caruso caused the session’s first red flag after his Nissan hit the wall off turn one after 20 minutes.

While Reynolds may not be reading too much into results before Sunday, there is clearly one man to beat at Mount Panorama — Ford’s Scott McLaughlin. The series leader sent an ominous warning when he clocked the fastest Supercars lap at Mount Panorama — a scorching 2:04.14 — in Friday’s practice. He obliterated Holden great Jamie Whincup’s 2015 mark by 0.76sec. McLaughlin then fell an agonising 0.08sec shy (2:04.22) of his record mark in Friday’s qualifying but still emerged as the favourite come Sunday. McLaughlin, 24, has a maiden Bathurst title in his sights after topping qualifying ahead of Reynolds (2:04.47) and Ford star Chaz Mostert (2:04.53). The Bathurst 1000’s front grid will be decided by the top-10 shootout starting at 5.10pm.

The shootout will be without some of Supercars’ biggest names. Four-time Bathurst champion Whincup will start 11th after a red flag prematurely ended Friday’s qualifying.

The Holden great looked set to break into the top 10 when he came thundering down the mountain with just seconds left in Friday’s 40-minute qualifying session.

Then James Moffat hit the wall at The Dipper, ensuring the session ended promptly under the red flag — and Whincup’s last gasp effort didn’t count. Whincup is second in the championship just 84 points behind leader McLaughlin. Moffat dropped from ninth to 22th on the grid for causing the red flag, ensuring he missed the shootout along with six-time King of the Mountain Craig Lowndes (19th) and defending Bathurst champion Will Davison (16th).

11am

McLaughlin obliterates Mt Panorama record

Speed.
Speed.

It will forever be known as the “Lap of the Gods”. Yet Greg Murphy’s legendary 2003 Bathurst 1000 time would have finished second- last in Friday’s qualifying after Scott McLaughlin led an assault on the Mount Panorama record books.

Series leader McLaughlin sent an ominous warning when he clocked the fastest- ever lap in a Supercar at Mount Panorama - a scorching two minutes, 04.14 seconds - in Friday’s final practice before qualifying.

He obliterated Holden great Jamie Whincup’s 2015 mark by a whopping 0.76 of a second.

McLaughlin vowed to do it again in qualifying.

In the end he fell an agonising 0.08 of a second short (2:04.22) of his mark but still emerged as the driver to stop in Sunday’s Great Race by grabbing provisional pole.

McLaughlin’s DJR Team Penske’s race engineer Ludo Lacroix went nuts in the garage after the Ford ace registered the record mark.

The rest of the pit lane dropped their shoulders after looking up at the timesheets and there was little wonder why.

To put McLaughlin’s achievement in perspective, it is best to turn to fellow Kiwi Murphy’s landmark time 14 years ago that has gone down in Bathurst folklore.

Murphy may be a four-time King of the Mountain but he will always be remembered for that lap.

He clocked a new lap record of 2:06.85 in a single flying lap in the Top 10 Shootout to stun the Bathurst crowd.

Murphy’s milestone is still much adored by the Supercars faithful despite being left behind after six-time Bathurst champ Craig Lowndes first eclipsed it in 2010 on a resurfaced Mount Panorama.

But McLaughlin did his best to ensure it may become a distant memory after his scorching practice effort.

All but one of the 26-strong field went faster than Murphy’s famous lap in Friday’s qualifying.

McLaughlin, 24, now has a maiden Bathurst title - and perhaps another record - in his sights after topping qualifying ahead of Holden cult hero David Reynolds (2:04.47) and Ford star Chaz Mostert (2:04.53).

McLaughlin admitted the portents were good for a record assault on Friday after watching a support category scorch the track in overcast conditions. But the master of understatement admits he was surprised after looking at the time as the Bathurst crowd erupted.

“Looking at the (support category) Dunlop race before practice I knew the pace would be pretty decent, pretty fast,” McLaughlin said.

“But it (record time) was a bit better than we thought.” And he didn’t rule out the prospect of shattering the 2:03.00 barrier if everything had clicked on Friday.

“Maybe. But if I could tell the future I would be rich,” McLaughlin said. No one is ruling out another record plunge by McLaughlin in Saturday’s Top 10 Shootout, especially after hearing how he would approach it. “Have a go,” he said.

“The car is really good so we will try to make the most of it.”

— AAP

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/sport/motorsport/v8-supercars/live-bathurst-1000-top-10-shoot-out-on-mt-panorama/news-story/e394fa923b493405a2d1d74bd0951eeb