I am feeling devastated for Coulthard
In an exclusive column, Scott McLaughlin reflects on a ‘crazy day’ at Pukekohe.
What an eventful day at the ITM Auckland SuperSprint at Pukekohe. I was happy to survive and know that I have closed the gap to the lead of the Supercars Championship, but I am devastated for my Shell V-Power Racing team-mate Fabian Coulthard.
I have only just seen the replay and Fabian was the innocent bystander after the incident with Mostert and Reynolds. He was making a strong move, and it would have been a great gain but it was going to be a long night for the No 12 team to get Fabian out for racing today.
It was a crazy day with all the wet weather, which caused qualifying to be cancelled. That made things really tough because we were heading for a wet weather race without getting a chance to drive in it.
And we were quite confident we could move forward from our fourth spot after practice.
My team did a great job with the pit strategy to jump me up the field and we had a huge battle with Whincup. We were so close to getting ahead of him in the second stop, but we both got delayed behind the safety car which let Shane van Gisbergen through to the front.
From that point our Shell V Power No 17 felt pretty good and we pushed as hard as we could. Third place was pleasing really. I was in front of all my major championship rivals, which is what I need to do.
We think that with a fine day today that we can make some improvements to the car and push for the win.
You can’t drive defensively. You have to go for the win and that is what I intend to do today. We are 18 points behind Whincup and Fabian is still in third place – so it is a big day ahead for the Shell V-Power Team.
Coming home to race, especially at Pukekohe, is something I look forward to more than any other race of the year. It is where I became passionate about Supercars, watching the likes of Greg Murphy here.
There’s also no place like home. It was so relaxing to chill at home with my parents at Mount Maunganui, and I even got to help Dad with his trucking operation.
I have to say that there is no better experience for us Kiwi drivers than Pukekohe. I was stunned that so many fans turned up and stayed through all the wet weather. It was incredible.
The noise coming over the hill is unreal. When I passed Whincup I could hear it very clearly from inside the car and it makes you feel so proud to be a Kiwi and drives me to do my absolute best. It is very humbling and I want to pay tribute to all the fans who came out yesterday.
I hope even more can turn up today. One thing is for sure – I will be driving the wheels off our No 17 to give them more to celebrate.