Scott McLaughlin wins at Townsville and claims the championship lead

DJR Team Penske Ford driver Scott McLaughlin won the opening round of the Australian Supercars Championship weekend at Townsville, and has now taken the lead of the championship.

The Kiwi won the race from pole position ahead of Triple Eight Race Engineering rival Jamie Whincup’s Holden, and Prodrive Ford rival Mark Winterbottom.

It was Whincup who made the best start though, snatching the lead from McLaughlin, only for the Ford driver to take it back before the end of the first lap.

Whincup was not far behind McLaughlin throughout the race, but had to settle for second, four seconds adrift.

Winterbottom started sixth and made his way to third ahead of Ford colleagues Chaz Mostert and Cameron Waters in positions four and five.

Former championship leader and team-mate to McLaughlin, Fabian Coulthard, had a dreadful race, dropping to third in the championship. The DJR Team Penske driver was pushed into a spin on the first lap and dropped down the order, recovering to finish 11th.

There were a number of drivers involved in the opening lap incident that saw Coulthard spin, with Nissan driver Todd Kelly and Holden driver James Courtney also having to pit for repairs.

Reigning champion Shane van Gisbergen crossed the line in seventh position behind Craig Lowndes, despite suffering from an engine issue throughout the race.

Action resumes tomorrow with the second 200km race of the weekend.