The opening session of the Sydney SuperNight 300 saw the full Supercars field roll out in darkness for the first time since 2011. With the 3.9km long circuit lit by 50 temporary lighting towers, the Shell V-Power Racing Team spent the session ensuring the various systems and processes put in place for working in the dark were operational, before turning attention to pace.
“That was wild,” commented McLaughlin. “Everything comes up really quick. I did some night go-karting stuff last week, but this is very different to what I’m used to. It was unreal. A really cool spectacle. I hope the fans really like it. It was a bit tough at the start to spot braking markers and turn-in points, but after a few laps I got used to it and we could press on.”
A Top-10 time in combined practice times will be extra important this weekend, with the new-for-2018 three-part qualifying system in play.
Setting a practice time inside the Top 10 will see drivers automatically enter into the Q2 qualifying session, skipping the opening Q1 session entirely.
The Shell V-Power Racing Team has a bit of work to do overnight, with McLaughlin finishing the session fifth and Coulthard 19th. The second and final practice session of the meeting will be tomorrow afternoon, before the three-part qualifying session and 300km race starting at 7:20pm tomorrow evening.
McLaughlin’s rival Shane van Gisbergen set the ninth quickest time.
“I’m glad I know the track because it’s very dark, too dark, but it’s okay,” said van Gisbergen. “Hopefully it’s a good show for everyone watching. The car feels awesome and everything looks awesome. We have a few adjustments to make in car, just to make it a bit better for tomorrow, but it’s all okay.
“I think it’s awesome we are doing something different but there’s a few tweaks we need to make as a team and as a series as well. My car feels pretty nice, we did a race run, we’ll tweak it to see what we can learn, and keep up with the track tomorrow because during the day it will be completely different.”
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