Red hot Scott
Kiwi V8 ace McLaughlin laps up Bathurst record
Scott McLaughlin struggled to hold his emotions in check after setting a new lap record to claim pole position for today’s Bathurst 1000.
Before he could take part in his press conference the Kiwi driver was greeted by a haka from New Zealand fans who’d made the journey over for the Great Race.
That hit home for McLaughlin, who then looked overwhelmed during the press conference as he pondered his achievement at the historic circuit.
‘‘It’s part of our culture in New Zealand and I’ll happily watch that any day,’’ McLaughlin said of the haka.
‘‘I’m just buzzing. It’s something I’ll never forget, yeah, it’s pretty special, very special,’’ he said with his voice trailing off and eyes becoming slightly watery.
His lap of 2:03.831 will go down in Bathurst folklore, as did that of his childhood hero, Greg Murphy, who drove what is referred to as the Lap of the Gods in 2003.
‘‘That was the main thing that went through my mind when I saw the 3.8, I thought holy crap,’’ McLaughlin laughed. ‘‘Basically from that (Murphy) lap Supercars was it for me, it was pretty special day that one, not only myself as a fan, but for New Zealand as a country. That was a day I’ll never forget and this is another day I’ll never forget.’’
Yet it all nearly didn’t happen for McLaughlin.
At one point on his lap he had two wheels off the track up the mountain but he somehow recovered.
‘‘I was lucky with that one, I kept my foot into it there,’’ he said. ‘‘It put me a bit narrow into Skyline, but I settled up before the Dipper and got a really good run off that.
‘‘It managed to hold itself together and I got through the Chase cleanly and brought it home, which was pretty amazing.’’
He was the favourite before the weekend and he’s an even stronger favourite now, but he says he can handle that pressure.
‘‘We start on pole and we’ve got 26 places to lose,’’ he said. ‘‘It looks like there’s going to be a fair bit of rain so it’s going to be completely different. We’ll worry about that when we get here, but we’ll work out a plan.
‘‘I’m confident to have a strong run. It’s nice to have a fast car and roll into a day in a good spot and we’ll try to make the most of it.’’
First to go in the shootout was Garth Tander, who did a time of 2:05.326. Jason Bright was able to knock a 10th of a second off that time. Following a slow time from James Courtney, Shane van Gisbergen set a new benchmark. The reigning Supercars champion was faster at every sector and posted a time of 2:04.669
Fellow Kiwi Fabian Coulthard was fast for the first part of his lap, but nearly put his Ford into the wall at the Cutting. However, he was still only three 10ths of a second slower than van Gisbergen.
Shootout, Mount Panorama, Bathurst (circuit: 6.213km): 1. Scott McLaughlin (Ford) 2mins3.8310sec2. David Reynolds (Holden) 2:04.27503. Mark Winterbottom (Ford) 2:04.49904. Chaz Mostert (Ford) 2:04.58805. Shane Van Gisbergen (Holden) 2:04.66906. Cameron Waters (Ford) 2:04.68007. Fabian Coulthard (Ford) 2:04.96908. Jason Bright (Ford) 2:05.22809. Garth Tander (Holden) 2:05.326010. James Courtney (Holden) 2:05.4890