Young Kiwi motorsport star Scott McLaughlin will start on the front row for tomorrow’s SuperCheap Autos Bathurst 1000 at Mt Panorama.
McLaughlin pushed his Volvo to top spot on the penultimate lap of the Armor All Top-10 Shootout to clock 2:05.491 before four-time champion Jamie Whincup grabbed pole with the final lap by just 6/100ths of a second.
The Kiwis will mount a strong charge for tomorrow’s race with Fabian Coulthard, performing strongly in front of team owner Roger Penske, fourth on the grid, current Supercars Championship leader Shane van Gisbergen seventh and Super Cheap Racing’s Chris Pither 12th.
McLaughlin was delighted with his effort in the shootout.
“It was great. It was good to continue on with the speed we had yesterday. The car is good in both race and qualifying trim so we will see how we go tomorrow,” McLaughlin said.
“In terms of mindset it is nice to know that we have good pace. This morning in the practice we had our race trim on and it felt good too.
“Moving forward we have a good chance tomorrow, as good as anyone. The key tomorrow is to do everything right, make sure we don’t make any mistakes and buy our ticket for the end part of the race. If we do that then we should be in for a good shot tomorrow with our speed.”
Coulthard was just 0.2s behind Whincup in the shootout, and like McLaughlin happy with the pace of the car.
“We have good speed but the car is equally good in race mode. I am looking forward to tomorrow’s race and think if we have an error-free run in and out of the race car, then we will be there with a chance,” Coulthard said.
Van Gisbergen has his eyes set firmly on the end goal of the championship and was not taking risks in the Shootout.
“Tomorrow is what we are aiming at. The goal for me is about securing the points and a win would be worth 300 points and a lot for our championship chances. For me it has always been about preparing for the race,” van Gisbergen said.
Super Black Racing’s Chris Pither, the only New Zealand owned team in the championship, was also impressive to be 12th on the grid and pleased with the efforts of co-driver Richie Stanaway who produced such an eye-catching debut at Sandown.
The other Kiwi main driver was Andrew Heimgartner who will start in 25th spot for the 1000km race which starts at 1.15pm (NZ time).
Following Bathurst is the final stop of the Pirtek Enduro Cup at Gold Coast before teams cross the Tasman for the sole New Zealand round of the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship at the ITM Auckland Supersprint in Pukekohe.
The ITM Auckland SuperSprint will be staged at the spiritual home of motorsport in New Zealand at Pukekohe Park Raceway on 4-6 November.
Tickets are on sale from as little as $38, with children 12 and under free with a paying adult. Fanstands start from just $74. Tickets can be purchased at www.ticketek.co.nz.
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