McLaughlin records first V8 Supercars pole

He was called in while leading the race yesterday with mechanical issues, but Scott McLaughlin has bounced back to record the fastest time in qualifying, taking the final ARMOR ALL Pole Award of the weekend. 

“Stoked – and I never got one in Dunlop Series, so to do it in the main series is awesome!” The Valvoline Volvo driver said after the 20-minute session at Winton Motor Raceway.

“Our race pace isn’t as good, so we have to make sure we’re on it,” he said.

“Fingers crossed it holds on (the S60) … at the moment you can’t take the smile off my face.”

It’s another dominant showing from the field’s three Kiwi drivers, with Shane van Gisbergen to start alongside on the front row, and yesterday’s race winner Fabian Coulthard right behind in third.

It was a 1min21.509 lap that shot McLaughlin to the top, with just 0.06sec separating he and the VIP Petfoods driver.

Mark Winterbottom shares the second row with Coulthard, with Craig Lowndes, James Courtney, Rick Kelly, Tim Slade, Nick Percat and Dale Wood rounding out the top 10.

Others to note include Jason Bright 12, Jamie Whincup 13, Chaz Mostert 15, Garth Tander 18 and yesterday’s winner Lee Holdsworth in 22.

Click here for full results.

The weekend’s final V8 Supercars race, a 200km, 67-lap race with two pit stops, will begin at 3.30pm local time.