McLaughlin win sets up title decider
03 Jun 2020
Scott McLaughlin has taken a commanding victory in the Michigan finale to set up an intriguing title fight with Shane van Gisbergen.
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It seemed as though the penultimate round of the BP Supercars All Stars Eseries would be decisive after points leader van Gisbergen won the night’s opening two sprint races.
However, that trend turned on its head in the longer final race, with McLaughlin’s chief rivals Bryce Fullwood and Chaz Mostert both copping penalties.
Fullwood had been a frontrunner all night but was brought unstuck by a penalty for speeding in pitlane, while Mostert was deemed responsible for spinning Anton De Pasquale in their late-race battle for second.
That left McLaughlin with a clear passage to the flag, while van Gisbergen’s two-stop strategy in a race with only one compulsory stop backfired.
The Red Bull Holden driver came home 14th, losing considerable ground in the points.
Behind McLaughlin was Jack Le Brocq, with a near 10-second gap to impressive Dunlop Super2 Series wildcard entry Jordan Boys in third.
Mostert was classified fourth pre-penalty, with Todd Hazelwood, Cameron Waters, De Pasquale, Macauley Jones, Andre Heimgartner and Rick Kelly rounding out the provisional top 10.
Following finishes of second and third in the earlier races, McLaughlin was awarded the round win.
It sets up an intriguing battle for the Eseries title with his perennial frontrunning rival van Gisbergen, who hangs onto a reduced advantage in the standings.
The 10th and final round of the Eseries will be held at iconic Australian circuits Mount Panorama and Oran Park.
PIRTEK Memorable Moments
Race 27, Michigan International Speedway
Lap 1: Scott McLaughlin jumps to the lead as a bunch of cars find trouble including Todd Hazelwood, Jake Kostecki, Chaz Mostert and Scott Pye
Lap 3: David Reynolds and Chris Pither among those to be caught up in an incident
Lap 5: Eseries pointer leader Shane van Gisbergen loses out after a tangle with Macauley Jones
Lap 16: McLaughlin still leads Anton De Pasquale, those two having stayed in that order lap after lap
Lap 19: Bryce Fullwood is the first of the frontrunners to blink, making his compulsory stop
Lap 20: The majority of the lead pack pit including McLaughlin, De Pasquale and van Gisbergen
Lap 21: Lee Holdsworth pits from the lead, with Reynolds the last man yet to stop
Lap 28: De Pasquale passes McLaughlin, only for van Gisbergen to launch past both to take the win
Race 28, Michigan International Speedway
Lap 1: Rick Kelly leads the reverse grid from Jamie Whincup
Lap 4: Christian Lundgaard makes contact with cars including virtual teammate Kelly
Lap 4: Whincup and Reynolds trade blows for the lead as Kostecki has a huge barrel roll behind
Lap 7: Todd Hazelwood has a spectacular shunt
Lap 9: van Gisbergen, McLaughlin, Kelly and the Davison brothers all involved in a big collision
Lap 11: Vodafone Safety Car is called
Lap 12: All cars stop besides Cameron Waters; Lee Holdsworth and McLaughlin make contact in pitlane
Lap 14: The race resumes with Whincup leading from Fabian Coulthard and Andre Heimgartner
Lap 14: De Pasquale crashes
Lap 17: Whincup sent flying towards the fence in a big shunt
Lap 19: Coulthard passes McLaughlin for second, behind van Gisbergen
Final lap: van Gisbergen holds on to make it two from two
Race 29, Michigan International Speedway
Lap 1: van Gisbergen leads the field from Fullwood and McLaughlin
Lap 2: Carnage unfolds involving the likes of Reynolds and Kostecki
Lap 7: Mostert leads from Anton De Pasquale
Lap 16: van Gisbergen makes an early stop, sparking questions of a possible two-stop strategy
Lap 21: De Pasquale leads from Fullwood as Mostert pits from third and Will Davison spins in pitlane
Lap 27: De Pasquale pits, leaving McLaughlin to lead from Fullwood and Jack Le Brocq
Lap 30: Lapped runner Michael Caruso speared into the fence by Fullwood, who has copped a penalty for speeding in pitlane
Lap 31: van Gisbergen the first of several drivers to make a second stop
Lap 37: A shift in the points race looms likely with McLaughlin leading and van Gisbergen sitting in 16th
Lap 42: Mostert spins De Pasquale, who fires into Percat; Mostert is issued a drive-through penalty
