‘It’s about consistency’
Kiwi V8s young gun Scott McLaughlin is hoping his winning shot at goal in a Supercars promotional event on Eden Park proves a positive omen for what lies ahead on both sides of the ditch.
McLaughlin, who leads the Australian Supercars championship by 131 points, held his nerve under pressure and executed when it mattered to emerge victorious in a special goalklicking event at New Zealand’s premier rugby ground yesterday.
The rugby-themed launch of New Zealand’s Pukekohe leg of the Supercars championship allowed all five Kiwis involved to tick off a bit of a bucket-list moment at the iconic ground under the watchful eye of All Blacks legend and current national selector Grant Fox.
And it was the 25-year-old McLaughlin, who played a bit of rugby and AFL back in his younger days, who took the checkered flag as he drilled the competition winner in a suddendeath shootout against Andre Heimgartner after the scores had been tied through three rounds.
Now, if he can just show the same clutch gene over the remaining rounds of the Supercars, which includes Pukekohe in November’s penultimate hitout, McLaughlin should lift his maiden championship trophy after going so close in 2017, when he had to settle for second in controversial circumstances.
‘‘It’s just about being consistent,’’ said McLaughlin of his campaign thus far in the Shell V-Power team’s Ford Falcon FG X. ‘‘We’re leading now but on our bad days we’re getting third places, and just keep getting points. One slipup from the guys behind me could be really bad for them.
‘‘We’re in the box seat with regards to the consistency and that sort of stuff, but we need to just keep it going.’’
And now, said McLaughlin, who has led since the fourth event of the season, it is about fixing the blinkers and not getting distracted from the task at hand.
‘‘As much as it sounds a cliche´ , we’ve just got to treat every race as it comes. Last year we didn’t do that, and put too much emphasis on Bathurst. This year it’s about racing hard and picking up the good results, the points, and continuing to be consistent.’’
The series moves to Ipswich for the next round on July 20-22 with McLaughlin hopeful of further consolidating his lead with a positive return on his ‘‘home’’ track.