McLaughlin takes crucial placing
DARWIN: Darwin’s second race might be looked back on as the day Scott McLaughlin secured his maiden Supercars championship.
He did not win the race, but a second, even a simple finish, was just as good considering the circumstances.
The Shell VPower star was in danger of not completing the 70lap stanza at Hidden Valley Raceway yesterday.
Excessive smoke from the back of his engine and issues with ventilation meant the Ford flyer could have easily been forced to the garage early.
Instead of bombing out, McLaughlin crossed the line behind only Erebus’ David Reynolds to go alongside his win in Saturday’s 42lap race.
Reynolds pulled off a miracle move on the first lap to go from fourth to first in the blink of an eye.
With Red Bull Holden’s Shane van Gisbergen only managing fourth, McLaughlin extended his lead in the championship standings to 161 points.
The New Zealand champion did not realise how dire his situation had become until he pulled in for his second pitstop.
‘‘That was a really good race for us,’’ McLaughlin said.
‘‘Davey’s move around the outside was awesome.
‘‘About lap two I lost my helmet fan and a couple of laps later I started getting really hot with the engine. It was all about trying to bring it home from there.
‘‘It was crazy and there was stuff going on everywhere, but second for us and extended the points gap, so it’s not a bad thing.’’
McLaughlin has won six of the season’s 16 races, only two shy of the number he brought up last year when he narrowly missed winning the title to Jamie Whincup.
Seventime champion Whincup has struggled since he went to Phillip Island in April leading the series.
But by ending on the podium for the second race at the Northern Territory, Whincup restored some much needed confidence.
Whincup sits fifth, 433 points behind McLaughlin as the series moves to Townsville on July 68. — AAP