McLaughlin claims first V8s victory

Rookie Scott McLaughlin claimed his first V8 Supercars victory in the final race of the Australian Grand Prix-supporting event in Melbourne.

The Garry Rogers Motorsport driver made a flying start from seventh place on the grid to take fifth, moving up to third when both Jason Bright and Will Davison made their mandatory pitstops at the end of the second lap.

Fabian Coulthard, who led from pole position, and David Reynolds, who had jumped to second on the run to the first corner, waited until laps six and seven respectively to pit.

McLaughlin was the best-placed of the drivers who had already made their stops and when Coulthard understeered off the track after emerging from the pits still ahead, he took a lead he would never lose.

Lowndes gave Coulthard a light tap into Turn 6 on the same lap to take second, which he held to the finish despite intense pressure from the New Zealander.

Reynolds finished fourth ahead of Alex Davison and Jamie Whincup, the latter making impressive progress from the lower reaches of the grid after being excluded from race three.

Coulthard’s third place, combined with his victories in the first three races of the weekend, handed him overall victory in the non-championship event.

Results – 12 laps:
 
Pos  Driver               Team/Car                      Time/Gap
  1.  Scott McLaughlin     GRM Holden                 24m35.7698s
  2.  Craig Lowndes        Triple 8 Holden              + 1.6852s
  3.  Fabian Coulthard     Brad Jones Holden            + 2.0032s
  4.  David Reynolds       Rod Nash/FPR Ford            + 2.4752s
  5.  Alex Davison         Schwerkolt/FPR Ford          + 6.7753s
  6.  Jamie Whincup        Triple 8 Holden              + 8.3943s
  7.  Todd Kelly           Nissan                       + 9.3351s
  8.  Will Davison         FPR Ford                    + 13.8983s
  9.  Shane van Gisbergen  Tekno Holden                + 14.0137s
 10.  James Moffat         Nissan                      + 14.3804s
 11.  Jason Bright         Brad Jones Holden           + 16.4297s
 12.  Michael Caruso       Nissan                      + 20.0522s
 13.  Rick Kelly           Nissan                      + 21.3834s
 14.  Tim Blanchard        DJR Ford                    + 22.1463s
 15.  David Wall           Britek/BJR Holden           + 22.6272s
 16.  Scott Pye            Dumbrell Holden             + 27.7706s
 17.  Dean Fiore           Dumbrell Holden             + 27.9402s
 18.  Jonny Reid           DJR Ford                    + 28.6582s
 19.  Tony D’Alberto       D’Alberto Holden            + 30.6041s
 20.  Lee Holdsworth       Erebus Mercedes             + 34.1071s
 21.  Maro Engel           Erebus Mercedes             + 34.3546s
 
Retirements:
 
     Jonathon Webb        Tekno Holden                    6 laps
      Garth Tander         HRT Holden                      5 laps
      Tim Slade            Rosenberg/Erebus Mercedes       2 laps
      Mark Winterbottom    FPR Ford                        0 laps
      James Courtney       HRT Holden                      0 laps
      Russell Ingall       Walkinshaw/HRT Holden           0 laps
 

Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/real-world-racing/3rdparty/mclaughlin-claims-first-v8s-victory

Divina Galica Nanni Galli Oscar Alfredo Gálvez Fred Gamble Howden Ganley