Clipsal 500 Supercars: McLaughlin puts Penske on top in FP2
Scott McLaughlin topped an official session as a DJR Team Penske driver for the first time, going fastest in second practice on the streets of Adelaide.
Photo by: DJR Team Penske
The Kiwi stormed to the top of the times just before the midway point, breaking the 1m20s barrier for the first time this weekend with a 1m19.891.
That time would have been good enough for P1 anyway, but McLaughlin improved right at the flag with a 1m19.835s to cover a purple sector from Shane van Gisbergen.
While reigning champion van Gisbergen did go on a charge at the end of the session, it was Rick Kelly who popped up into second. The Nissan driver bounced over the chicane on the first of a two-lap stint at the end, but nailed the second with a 1m19.924s – despite not being overly happy with his own performance.
“I’m surprised at we’re where we are, because I didn’t feel I did a good job,” said Kelly. “It was a shaky lap that second lap [in the stint]. The car is good, I’ve just got to change my approach.”
Van Gisbergen’s late improvement saw him slot into third place, and last of those under the 1m20s bracket, with a 1m19.937s. That left him a tenth clear of Red Bull Holden Racing Team teammate Jamie Whincup, who was fourth quickest after topping this morning’s first session.
Todd Kelly was fifth quickest in his brand new Nissan chassis, while hometown hero Nick Percat jumped to sixth with a 1m20.126s right at the death.
David Reynolds was impressive in the Erebus Commodore, finishing up seventh quickest ahead of Prodrive’s Chaz Mostert and DJR Team Penske’s Fabian Coulthard, while Michael Caruso made it three Nissans in the Top 10.
Craig Lowndes was off the pace again, the Triple Eight drive ending up way down the order in 21st. However the veteran star was unfazed, blaming his poor position on kerb strikes rather than a genuine lack of pace.
“The car feels good,” he said. “We got through our programme, we made our adjustments. We’ll have a look at the data and have a look at where we are, we just have to get through Turn 1 better.”
Simona de Silvestro made in-roads in terms of her relative pace, ending the session 23rd fastest and just 1.2s behind pacesetter McLaughlin.
Teenager Alex Rullo had a tough session, sparking a red flag with a trip into the wall and ending up more than three seconds off the pace.
Cla | # | Driver | Car | Laps | Time | Gap | Interval | km/h |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 17 | Scott McLaughlin | Ford Falcon FG-X | 15 | 1'19.8355 | 145.198 | ||
2 | 15 | Rick Kelly | Nissan Altima | 18 | 1'19.9241 | 0.0886 | 0.0886 | 145.037 |
3 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Holden Commodore VF | 16 | 1'19.9370 | 0.1015 | 0.0129 | 145.014 |
4 | 88 | Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore VF | 15 | 1'20.0363 | 0.2008 | 0.0993 | 144.834 |
5 | 7 | Todd Kelly | Nissan Altima | 15 | 1'20.1109 | 0.2754 | 0.0746 | 144.699 |
6 | 8 | Nick Percat | Holden Commodore VF | 17 | 1'20.1266 | 0.2911 | 0.0157 | 144.671 |
7 | 9 | David Reynolds | Holden Commodore VF | 14 | 1'20.2399 | 0.4044 | 0.1133 | 144.466 |
8 | 55 | Chaz Mostert | Ford Falcon FG-X | 20 | 1'20.2429 | 0.4074 | 0.0030 | 144.461 |
9 | 12 | Fabian Coulthard | Ford Falcon FG-X | 14 | 1'20.3479 | 0.5124 | 0.1050 | 144.272 |
10 | 23 | Michael Caruso | Nissan Altima | 12 | 1'20.3820 | 0.5465 | 0.0341 | 144.211 |
11 | 5 | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Falcon FG-X | 16 | 1'20.4201 | 0.5846 | 0.0381 | 144.143 |
12 | 18 | Lee Holdsworth | Holden Commodore VF | 16 | 1'20.4351 | 0.5996 | 0.0150 | 144.116 |
13 | 19 | Will Davison | Holden Commodore VF | 18 | 1'20.4421 | 0.6066 | 0.0070 | 144.103 |
14 | 34 | James Moffat | Holden Commodore VF | 15 | 1'20.4423 | 0.6068 | 0.0002 | 144.103 |
15 | 14 | Tim Slade | Holden Commodore VF | 17 | 1'20.4514 | 0.6159 | 0.0091 | 144.086 |
16 | 2 | Scott Pye | Holden Commodore VF | 17 | 1'20.4620 | 0.6265 | 0.0106 | 144.068 |
17 | 99 | Dale Wood | Holden Commodore VF | 15 | 1'20.4953 | 0.6598 | 0.0333 | 144.008 |
18 | 33 | Garth Tander | Holden Commodore VF | 17 | 1'20.7077 | 0.8722 | 0.2124 | 143.629 |
19 | 22 | James Courtney | Holden Commodore VF | 17 | 1'20.7251 | 0.8896 | 0.0174 | 143.598 |
20 | 56 | Jason Bright | Ford Falcon FG-X | 18 | 1'20.7477 | 0.9122 | 0.0226 | 143.558 |
21 | 888 | Craig Lowndes | Holden Commodore VF | 19 | 1'20.8602 | 1.0247 | 0.1125 | 143.358 |
22 | 6 | Cameron Waters | Ford Falcon FG-X | 16 | 1'20.8790 | 1.0435 | 0.0188 | 143.325 |
23 | 78 | Simona de Silvestro | Nissan Altima | 20 | 1'21.0850 | 1.2495 | 0.2060 | 142.961 |
24 | 21 | Tim Blanchard | Holden Commodore VF | 20 | 1'21.1148 | 1.2793 | 0.0298 | 142.908 |
25 | 3 | Taz Douglas | Holden Commodore VF | 17 | 1'21.5241 | 1.6886 | 0.4093 | 142.191 |
26 | 62 | Alex Rullo | Holden Commodore VF | 17 | 1'23.1366 | 3.3011 | 1.6125 | 139.433 |
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