V8 Supercars: McLaughlin extends championship lead with sixth win

July 29, 2017 • Event Reports, Featured • Marijan Malcevic

Scott McLaughlin (DJR Team Penske) wins the Saturday’s race of the Coates Hire Ipswich SuperSprint at Queensland Raceway. It’s the sixth win for McLaughlin in the 15th race of the 2017 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship and he extend his championship lead over the closest rival Jamie Whincup.

Before the race, McLaughlin captured his tenth pole position of the season. At the start, he lost a lead to fellow front-row starter Craig Lowndes. Three laps later, McLaughlin retuirned to P1. Lowndes pitted seven laps earlier than McLaughlin and retook the lead one more time when McLaughlin stopped for tyres and fuel, but the 24-year-old New Zealander was too fast for the 43-year-old veteran.

Sixth win of the season for Scott McLaughlin

McLaughlin cruised to one more victory, crossing the finish line with 3-second advantage over Chaz Mostert (Supercheap Auto Racing Ford). Red Bull’s Shane van Gisbergen was the best Holden driver in the third place, ahead of Tim Slade. Craig Lowndes fell to fifth after 39 laps, one place ahead of Fabian Coulthard. Jamie Whincup, who was demoted to 14th on the grid with a five-place penalty for pitlane contact with James Moffat in qualifying, finished in the 20th place.

After fifteen races in 2017, Scott McLaughlin leads the championship with 1758 points, 111 more than Jamie Whincup. Fabian Coulthard is third, with 1552 points on his account. One more race at Queensland Raceway is scheduled for tomorrow.