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DJR Team Penske star Scott McLaughlin hits back at critics of his controversial 2019 Bathurst 1000 race win

Scott McLaughlin’s controversial maiden Bathurst 1000 win continues to come under fire, 12 months after he claimed the Great Race under controversial circumstances. The Supercars champion has fired back.

Scott McLaughlin soaks up his Bathurst 100 win last year. Picture: Getty Images
Scott McLaughlin soaks up his Bathurst 100 win last year. Picture: Getty Images

Scott McLaughlin has fired back at his critics over his controversial 2019 victory at Mount Panorama, declaring he will “go to his grave” satisfied he is a Bathurst 1000 champion.

Responding to claims his win was “tainted” after DJR Team Penske was hit with heavy penalties for issuing an illegal team order and an engine breach at Bathurst last year, McLaughlin said other teams were more worried about his Ford squad than their own race.

Erebus Motorsport co-owner Barry Ryan said DJR Team Penske should have been stripped of the 2019 win, claiming the penalties had not gone far enough.

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Scott McLaughlin and Alex Premat celebrate after winning last year’s Bathurst 1000. Picture: Getty Images
Scott McLaughlin and Alex Premat celebrate after winning last year’s Bathurst 1000. Picture: Getty Images

Triple Eight boss Roland Dane also said the team’s tactics didn’t “sit well with most people” in the sport.

But McLaughlin, who was stripped of his qualifying and top-10 shootout wins but retained his maiden title in the Great Race, shot down his critics on Wednesday and said he was “fully satisfied” he was a Bathurst 1000 winner.

“I saw a few quotes go on over the week, it’s quite funny really, I just go along with it,” McLaughlin said.

“They are obviously still more worried about us than their own race. It probably shows in their results over the whole season.

“I’m fully aware that there are always going to be people that are going to try to undermine my result and how I drove.

“But I am fully satisfied and I will go to my grave knowing that I am a Bathurst 1000 winner and that’s what I am really proud of.”


Arriving at Mount Panorama with his third Supercars championship already sealed, the Ford flyer could be lining up for his last race in Australia if his foray into IndyCar later this month in Florida is successful.

McLaughlin will make his IndyCar debut at St Petersburg on October 25, but the 27-year-old said he was still unsure whether he would be racing in Supercars or in the United States in 2021.

“You should ask Roger Penske that,” said McLaughlin, who will fly out to the US first thing on Monday morning.

“Right now, it’s an opportunity, I’ve got a return flight home coming home in early November and I’ve got a contract here with DJR Team Penske.

“So regardless of what happens whether we go well or Roger plucks me out whatever, I have got an opportunity, I’ve got a job here in Australia which is going to be easily enough for me into the future.

“I head to St Pete basically as a sponge and just try and soak everything in and enjoy it and see how we go. It’s a really big icing on the cake of what’s been an awesome year.”

McLaughlin is back for another crack at the Mountain. Picture: Rohan Kelly
McLaughlin is back for another crack at the Mountain. Picture: Rohan Kelly

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McLaughlin takes an unassailable 305-point championship lead into the Bathurst 1000 ahead of Red Bull Holden Racing Team’s seven-time series champion Jamie Whincup.

The Ford star said having the championship already decided would allow him to take more “risks” on the mountain.

“To wrap up the championship is ideal and now we can basically put all our eggs into one basket,” McLaughlin said.

“Off-track, but on-track as well for me I can maybe risk a little bit more on a qualifying lap and do a few things during the race or make a few moves that maybe in a championship position I would not do and that’s what I am excited for.”

McLaughlin has former Brad Jones Racing driver Tim Slade as a co-driver for this year’s race and said the partnership had him more “chilled” than ever before the endurance classic.

“I’m really comfortable with Tim … the reason we have got Tim on board is because we trust his ability, we trust what he does with the race car,” McLaughlin said.

“I’m probably the most chilled I have ever been coming to a race and that’s no disrespect to (last year’s co-driver) Alex (Premat), but the relationship I have with Tim goes back a number of years until I was 15 years old, so we know each other really well.”

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rebecca.williams@news.com.au

Originally published as DJR Team Penske star Scott McLaughlin hits back at critics of his controversial 2019 Bathurst 1000 race win

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Original URL: https://www.thechronicle.com.au/sport/motor-sport/djr-team-penske-star-scott-mclaughlin-hits-back-at-critics-of-his-controversial-2019-bathurst-1000-race-win/news-story/5bac2150e7b696dbeeb8ae33cf91f2e8