McLaughlin: race start key to Darwin opening race victory

A blinding race start in the first race of this weekend’s Darwin SuperSprint was the biggest key behind Scott McLaughlin’s race win, according to the current Supercars Championship points leader.

Starting from second on the Hidden Valley Raceway grid, McLaughlin converted perfectly off the line to get his DJR Team Penske Ford Mustang past the Triple Eight Holden Commodore of polesitter Jamie Whincup, putting the defending champion in control of the race.

Starting on the cleaner side of the track and studying last weekend’s races were the biggest factors behind McLaughlin’s start which let him cover off Whincup into Turn 1, resulting in him controlling the race for the next 38 laps.

Speaking after the race, McLaughlin says he was unsure whether he’d had a gap to get past Whincup on the run into the first turn but he decided to make the move and hope for the best.

“After the start I was ‘like you beauty’,” McLaughlin said post-race to the Supercars broadcast team.

“I was trying to just get in (front) and I didn’t know if I was clear and thought, if he hits me I’m not clear so just go with it. It ended up pretty good, we were pretty paper thin there.

“(The car was really good; if I had to pick apart the start, it was probably the clutch slip that was a little more than I wanted or a bit too much at the start but once I released the clutch, it drove off really nice. I could hear Jamie me wheel spin a bit and I got a clear run.

“I think doing two rears (tyres)  helped that a bit as well, that’s the benefit week-to-week with the two races, we saw what Jamie and Triple Eight did last week so we copied that today and it worked really well.”

With ambient temperatures up in the 30’s and track temperatures above 40 degrees, having the lead and clean air as well as track position was a big motivational factor to get into first place, McLaughlin said.

“Especially in this heat, it’s 10 times worse. Even though this week is only a few degrees hotter, having that clear air on your nose for the engine and brakes is huge.

“After the pit stop you hold your breath because you don’t know where Jamie is. When I came out in front of him after the pit stop I was able to have some relief and bring it home.

“I still think we need more drive but at the moment I’m chasing turns, there’s only so much I can ask for. A lot of it is to do with the heat, the track is so hot, I think it was in the mid 40’s today and when you get that cloud cover like Jamie did (in the shootout), the track drops two or three tenths.

“We’re always chasing something, our qualifying car was pretty good and we’ll have a look at the cambers tonight to work out what the tyre wears look like, and look at myself as a driver to see if we can come back stronger tomorrow.”

McLaughlin leads the championship by 109 points over Whincup, reigniting their 2017 championship battle which saw the latter clinch his seventh title.