McLaughlin on track for race record

MOTORSPORT: Ford star Scott McLaughlin can add another piece of history to his unstoppable charge to the Supercars championship with a race win in Auckland this weekend. McLaughlin’s double at Tailem Bend in South Australia last month took him level with Craig Lowndes’s 1996 record of 16 race wins in a single season. A victory in either race this weekend would make McLaughlin the most successful driver in a single season in the championship’s history. Given McLaughlin’s dominance it seems almost inevitable he will surpass that tally but the New Zealander admits it would be a special thrill to break the record in his homeland. “There’s plenty more opportunities to do it later in the year but I’d love to, obviously, try and win it at home,” the DJR Team Penske driver said. “Regardless if there was a record on the line or not, I’d still be coming in wanting to win here badly. “It is very exciting for me to potentially be able to add to a record and that’s really cool.” Lowndes’s brilliant 1996 campaign led to the first of his three career championships but he expects his record to fall at some point over the weekend at Pukekohe Park. “Records are there to be broken. There’s definitely no doubt that Scotty’s having a stellar year and it’s not a matter of if, it’s probably a matter of when,” Lowndes said. McLaughlin heads across the Tasman holding a mammoth 573-point lead in the championship from nearest rival Chaz Mostert. As well as his shot at history, McLaughlin will be making his 100th Supercars round start at the circuit where in 2013 he claimed his first race win. “It means a lot. It’s a magical place,” he said. The Auckland SuperSprint starts with practice tomorrow before a 70-lap race on both Saturday and Sunday.