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COATES HIRE MELBOURNE 400 – FRIDAY, MARCH 23 – QUALIFYING & RACE

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

Qualifying Race 5 – 7th (Fastest Lap: 1m55.7604s)
Qualifying Race 6 – 6th (Fastest Lap: 1m55.8967s)
Race 3 – 3rd (Fastest Lap: 1m57.9009s)

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

Qualifying Race 5 – 1st (Fastest Lap: 1m55.1576s)
Qualifying Race 6 – 9th (Fastest Lap: 1m55.9927s)
Race 3 – 1st (Fastest Lap: 1m57.5180s)

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

Recap: It was a strong race for the Shell V-Power Racing Team today at the Australian Grand Prix, with the Fords of Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard starting from the front row. Coulthard started well, and slotted into third position. He was challenged by Shane van Gisbergen early, but maintained his position and good work in the pit lane kept him in third place on the track. He was chasing Whincup down over the last few laps, but ran out of time to make a pass, finishing one-second behind. The result sees Fabian jump to 15th as he recovers from a difficult opening round in Adelaide.

Coulthard Quote: "So great to bounce back after Adelaide, and be on the podium at the Grand Prix. I love this track, and have always enjoyed racing here. Very cool to share the podium with Scott, and hear the NZ national anthem play. Three more races this weekend to keep it going."
 
Scott McLaughlin - No. 17 Shell V-Power Racing Ford
 
Recap: Scott started well and lead from the start, defending from a charging Jamie Whincup at Turn 1 to maintain the lead until his first stop on Lap 12. A slightly slow stop allowed Whincup, who stopped one lap earlier, to undercut McLaughlin. McLaughlin rejoined 1.5s behind Whincup, and then spent the next four laps chasing him down before he slid past Whincup with a fantastic move into the lead through Turn 4. McLaughlin then drove away to take victory by 1.3s from Whincup. The win has pushed Scott into third position on the points table. The team now sits fourth in the Teams’ points, 82 off the lead. Tomorrow will see the team compete in Races 4 and 5 of the Championship, with Race 4 starting at 12:40pm local time.

McLaughlin Quote: "It’s a monkey off the back to get the first win of the year under the belt. That podium after the race was so cool, I’ve never had the national anthem played on the podium before so that was a great feeling. Looking forward to doing it again tomorrow."
 
DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

TEAMS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS