McLaughlin out on warm up lap
28 Feb 2015
Scott McLaughlin's first V8 Supercars race of 2015 was over before it began with his Volvo S60 suffering from an oil fire on the warm-up lap at the Clipsal 500.
McLaughlin's S60 was sideways on the circuit with flames visible before he jumped out of the car.
The young kiwi starred in the second race at the street circuit last year, and he was confident he would be back on track for today's later hit-out.
"I think the boys said it was an oil pump," McLaughlin told v8supercars.com.au.
"I was just setting off for my warm up lap, I went through the chicane and I sort of smelt something and it was really bad.
"It was irritating my throat and I thought 'this isn't good', but I thought I'd be able to soldier on in the race.
"And then, I was warming up my tyres and it felt like I had lost a wheel or something had popped. I just slid sideways into the fence and then I saw the smoke and I tried to get going but I couldn't go because it felt like a fire.
"I tried to get out [of] there as quick as possible and I went down the side looking for a fire extinguisher but old mate didn't have one. I'm just gutted."
McLaughlin had qualified third on the grid for the first race, and is set to start on the front row along Jamie Whincup for the afternoon's second 125km run on the Adelaide streets.
"We'll be alright for Race Two, but it's always good to get your first race underway because you get to have an idea of the car, how is it set up and get yourself in a rhythm - everyone is having their first race, like a warm up, and I'm going to roll out there fresh as a daisy, but what do you do?"
The Volvo driver has declaredhe would push for the Championship title this year after finishing fifth in 2014, but he shrugged off this early setback.
"At the end of the day, what do you do? The boys work so hard and if something fails, it's not their fault. We're just doing our thing and unfortunately it wasn't our day. We'll keep our smiles on, it's only the first race of the year."
Wilson Security GRM teammate David Wall is the sole Volvo on the circuit, circulating in 22nd position 29 laps into the race.
