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PERTH SUPERSPRINT – SATURDAY, MAY 5 – PRACTICE, QUALIFYING & RACE
 
Fabian Coulthard - No. 12 Shell V-Power Racing Ford

Practice 3 – 4th (Fastest Lap: 55.8703s)
Qualifying – 3rd (Fastest Lap: 54.7280s)
Race 11 – 9th (Fastest Lap: 57.3560s)
 
Scott McLaughlin - No. 17 Shell V-Power Racing Ford

Practice 3 – 5th (Fastest Lap: 55.8983s)
Qualifying – 1st (Fastest Lap: 54.6397s)
Race 11 – 1st (Fastest Lap: 57.2451s)

Recap:  The race started with plenty of promise, following a strong qualifying session where Scott McLaughlin took pole and Fabian Coulthard third. Both got a good start, with Scott leading and Fabian taking second place at turn one. Scott took his stop on lap 20, and then settled in to run the final 30 laps to the flag. It was all about tyre management, and managing the gaps to those behind. Some runners took tyres late in the race, with podium getters Mark Winterbottom and Shane van Gisbergen the last cars to stop, before driving through the field using their fresher tyres. Coulthard sat strong in second position until his first stop on lap 21. Unfortunately, an issue in the stop lost Fabian more than five-seconds, putting him back into the pack. He made up a few positions, however his tyres tapered off later in the race and he was passed by a some faster cars to eventually finish 9th. Scott now leads the Championship by 119 points, with Fabian up into eighth. The team is now second in the points, only six-points behind Triple Eight.

Coulthard Quote: "We had a good start, were second by the first corner, which was the goal and the first box ticked. We didn't quite have enough to contend with Scotty on race pace, so I drove to what I had in my car. It allowed Scott to create a solid gap to the field, and he wasn't really under any pressure for the rest of the race. When the team wins, we win so that was great. The pit stop probably cost us a fair chunk of time. We were one of the fastest cars in the race, but losing five-seconds in the pits doesn't help. We'll take a look at things overnight, make a few changes and hopefully do things better tomorrow."

McLaughlin Quote: "I got a really good start, and managed to build a gap early. I felt like we were reasonably strong in that early part of the race, and then some others went a little bit aggressive. We got back into the groove after the stop, and had a few dicey moments when we were dealing with traffic. That's one of the things that makes racing around here so cool, the speed differentials can be unreal. It was a really nice day. When your car is that fast, you've got to really take advantage of it and we did that today. Big thanks to the team for giving me a great car, and helping me capitalise on a strong day."