Make not brake ... McLaughlin predicts a fast finale
FORGET next year, Scott McLaughlin is determined to tick off his goals of winning Bathurst and the Supercars championship in his final season at Volvo.
McLaughlin, who will switch to DJR Team Penske for 2017, emerged as a serious contender after finishing seven of the year’s first 10 races in the top four to take the series lead in May.
However, he is yet to finish better than fifth in the seven races since, seeing him drift to fifth in the standings and 285 points off frontrunner Jamie Whincup’s tally.
The 23-year-old ace declared such lost ground can be recovered.
“Absolutely,” McLaughlin said. “We definitely have got the pace … Bathurst is definitely well within reach and the championship too.
“There’s a lot of points left on the board and into Bathurst, if we have a good round there and a couple of others have bad rounds, a lot can change. The championship really doesn’t start until after Bathurst.”
McLaughlin put his hand up for not meeting his usual lofty standards in recent rounds, perhaps adding to his belief that the No.33’s form of late can be reversed.
“Car pace probably hasn’t quite been there but myself, I need to do a better job,” he admitted, noting a five-week break in the calendar has come at an ideal time.
“There’s a couple of mistakes I have made over time and I just haven’t quite got it right, which I’m working on.
“It’s been unfortunate, it’s hurt us more than we probably wanted it to but we’ll fight back hard towards the end of the year.”
The Christchurch-born speedster wants to lay the platform for a dominant second half of the season by firing at next weekend’s Sydney SuperSprint, where he last year claimed a pole position and three top-10 finishes.
Looking ahead to next year, McLaughlin was cagey about the likelihood of him moving from Melbourne back to the Gold Coast near DJR Team Penske’s Stapylton base.
“I’m just focused on the job I have got at hand but we’ll suss all that sort of stuff out later on in due course. Obviously I’ll do whatever is needed by the team,” he said.
McLaughlin previously lived on the Coast for several years and went to school at Saint Stephen’s College.
The Coast is rapidly becoming a popular base for Supercars stars, with Whincup, Shane van Gisbergen, Will Davison, Tim Slade, Chaz Mostert, James Courtney, Fabian Coulthard and Shae Davies all calling the city home.
Following news Holden will not continue their support of Walkinshaw Racing beyond this year – with Volvo doing the same with Garry Rogers Motorsport – McLaughlin added that he was glad to be linking up with the wellbacked Penske squad.