Supercars leader sizzles in final lap

SCOTT McLaughlin continued his stellar Supercars run by claiming a practice win in Perth yesterday.

Following on from the Phillip Island clean sweep that handed him the V8 championship lead, the DJR Team Penske star edged out fellow Ford flyer Cameron Waters to continue his charge towards the title.

McLaughlin topped the time sheet with his last-ditch lap at the death keeping Ford on top while his teammate Fabian Coulthard powered home to finish third and make it an all-Falcon three.

“I didn’t get much of a banker before that final lap so I was pretty nervous,’’ McLaughlin said.

“I only had one chance left at the end so I just tried to bring it home.

“I think there is a lot more in both myself and Fabian. But it is great to see both of us up there and in the hunt tomorrow.’’

McLaughlin hit back last round to show the Falcon can beat the all-new Commodore ZB with the season’s most dominant display.

The young gun is out to continue his march this weekend when he resumes his war with reigning champion Jamie Whincup.

“It was a great job by everyone in the team,’’ McLaughlin said. “It was a big job today to go from a race run in practice to getting another three seconds in the end to post a time.”

Tickford racer Waters surprised the field to challenge McLaughlin for the quickest time.

“It is awesome to finish in second,’’ Waters said.

“We have put a fair bit in as a team over the last few events and I know it is only practice but it puts a lot of confidence in everyone. The car felt really good so it is nice to see all the hard work paying off.’’

Waters is out to improve on his past two rounds where his best finish was a 13th in Tasmania.

“Practice means something now, so it is good to be competitive,’’ Waters said. “Everyone is putting their best foot forward so it shows you are going OK. I am rapt to be up there and competitive.’’

Whincup was the fastest Holden, with the Red Bull finishing in fourth place with a time of 55.08.

Craig Lowndes was the bigname failure after traffic ruined his fast lap. The Holden legend finished in 26th place.