News

IPSWICH SUPERSPRINT – SUNDAY JULY 30 - QUALIFYING & RACE 16

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

Qualifying – 4th (Fastest Lap: 1m08.7315 - under old lap record)
Race 16 – 5th (Fastest Lap: 1m09.9478s)

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

Qualifying – FIRST (Fastest Lap: 1m08.4208s - new lap record)
Race 16 – 2nd (Fastest Lap: 1m09.8167s)

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

Recap: Coulthard had a much better run today, with a strong lap in qualifying that saw him start the race from fourth on the grid. He had a good start and got past teammate McLaughlin, racing in third position until the first pit stops. Following the stops, he rejoined fifth and got up to fourth after passing Nick Percat in the last stint. Following a late race re-start he was chased down and passed by Shane van Gisbergen on fresher tyres, and finished the race fifth. He remains third in the Championship heading to the next event in Sydney in three weeks.

Quote: "We set out to qualify better, and bridge that gap to Scott who really has been the standout performer this year. I needed to adjust what I was doing to take advantage of this new type of set-up. Coming away with fifth yesterday and sixth today is pretty solid. Championship wise, we'll keep working so we're somewhere close come November."

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

Recap: McLaughlin took his 11th pole of 2017, and the 28th of his career in qualifying this morning with a record setting effort. He is now equal with Team Owner and Hall of Famer Dick Johnson on the all-time pole list. He had a slow start to the race, and slipped into fourth position for the first stint of the race behind teammate Coulthard. He exited from his first stop into third place, which he held until late in the second stint when he passed Whincup to take second position. He tried to go with Mostert off the late race restart, but was then forced to defend against a charging Shane van Gisbergen to finish second. He has extended his Championship lead to 129 points, with only one sprint event remaining before the start of the PIRTEK Enduro Cup.

Quote: "I'm frustrated about my start, which has been an issue all year. I'll look at them again. We had a pretty good day. We didn't quite have the pace of Chaz, but we definitely had the pace of the Triple 8 guys, so this is almost like a win for us. We need to keep doing that, keep adding to the points haul and take the chocolates when we can."