There is an ingredient missing from the 2021 Repco Australia Supercars Championship and this was evident at the Repco Mt Panarama 500, held at Bathurst over the weekend. The #17 car was there and did well, but its ex-driver and three-time Supercars champion, Scott McLaughlin, was sorely missed from the proceedings. With McLaughlin now pursuing his career in the USA competing in the NTT IndyCar Series, Shane van Gisbergen looked as if he had an easy time of it, winning both races at the opening round. McLaughlin’s absence and van Gisbergen’s winning, exposes a real gap in both the established and emerging talent on the grid.
McLaughlin has moved on and van Gisbergen has stepped up. What he has achieved in the last six months– winning the 2020 Super Cheap Auto Bathurst 1000, the Repco Battle of Jacks Ridge and then the New Zealand Grand Prix – is quite remarkable and indicates that with McLaughlin now gone from Supercars, he is ready to stamp his mark on the championship.
My concern is that the rest of the Supercars field don’t look like they are stepping up to fill the void and also meet the challenge. The 2021 Supercars season may well be one where we grieve for what we had, with the talent of McLaughlin no longer on the grid.
The likes of Mostert, Slade and Waters have talent and are there or there about. They will be on the podium and even taking the occasional race victory. They are quick, but not extraordinary.
Van Gisbergen’s talent is something quite different and also quite special. But where is the next young champion and when will we see them step up and take the challenge to the Kiwi.
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