News

TOWNSVILLE 400 – SATURDAY JULY 8 - QUALIFYING AND RACE 13

Fabian Coulthard - No. 12 Shell V-Power Racing Ford

Qualifying – 9th (Fastest Lap: 1m12.5586s)
Race 13 – 11th (Fastest Lap: 1m13.3855s)

Scott McLaughlin - No. 17 Shell V-Power Racing Ford

Qualifying – FIRST (Fastest Lap: 1m12.0731s (New Lap Record)
Race 13 – FIRST (Fastest Lap: 1m13.1279s (New Race Lap Record)

Fabian Coulthard - No. 12 Shell V-Power Racing Ford

Recap: Coulthard and his crew worked hard overnight to find a handling balance to suit the left foot braker around the Townsville street circuit. He qualified 9th, and started well before being hit from behind and spun at turn one on lap one. He dropped to the back of the pack, and then mounted a stellar recovery drive, combined with good strategy, to get back to 11th at the finish.

Quote: "If I can't win, I want to see my teammate win, so congrats to Scott on a great job today. The cars are obviously fast, and to be able to climb back from that contact at the start was great. It was unfortunate, but the team did a great job with great strategy and got me back to 11th."

Scott McLaughlin - No. 17 Shell V-Power Racing Ford

Recap: McLaughlin continued his run of dominant qualifying pace today, taking his 8th pole of 2017 in a new lap record time. He lost the lead of the race off the start, but quickly regained it and then gapped the field to maintain the lead for the length of the race. It was an emphatic win, and has elevated McLaughlin to the Championship points lead for the first time in his career.

Quote: "It's fantastic for the guys at Shell V-Power Racing, had a great battle with Jamie Whincup early in the race, and was able to get by him and then get a gap. It's very cool to take the Championship lead. We've still got a long way to go, though. We came here hoping to get a couple of podiums and maintain out place in the Championship, and we've done more than that, so I couldn’t be happier."