Darwin Supercars: McLaughlin completes clean sweep

The DJR Team Penske star effectively won the race at the start, using the grippier side of the front row to out-drag pole-sitter Shane van Gisbergen down to the first corner.

Once in front McLaughlin never looked back, flawlessly executing a standard strategy with a Lap 8 stop to make it three wins from three races, his margin in the final heat a whopping 13.8s.

Even better for McLaughlin was that his closest title rival Jamie Whincup was just seventh, the points gap between the two now 177.

"I love it [in Darwin]. I love the people, I love the track. And I love it when my car is like that. That's hands-down the best car I've every driven. All weekend it was so solid."

The battle for the minor placings was significantly closer, with as many as five cars in contention for the podium for much of the race.

Nick Percat effectively ran second the entire way, jumping van Gisbergen at the start. He couldn't quite shake the likes of Scott Pye and, for a while, van Gisbergen, but ultimately had enough to take a well-earned podium.

Pye finished third for the second time today, having withstood significant pressure from van Gisbergen when the Triple Eight driver – who stopped later in the race – had better tyre quality.

Pye didn't just help himself by holding off van Gisbergen, he also helped his teammate Mark Winterbottom who went deep into the race before making his stop. With the best rubber in the field for the run home, Winterbottom was able to run down Chaz Mostert and van Gisbergen to nab fourth place.

That did include a bit of contact to get by van Gisbergen, though, Winterbottom hinting after the race that he may have to face the stewards.

Van Gisbergen and Mostert finished fifth and sixth ahead of Whincup.

Darwin Supersprint - race results:

Cla	#	Driver	Car	Time
1	17	Scott McLaughlin	Ford Mustang GT
2	8	Nick Percat	Holden Commodore ZB	13.835
3	20	Scott Pye	Holden Commodore ZB	14.817
4	18	Mark Winterbottom	Holden Commodore ZB	16.423
5	97	Shane van Gisbergen	Holden Commodore ZB	18.367
6	25	Chaz Mostert	Holden Commodore ZB	19.622
7	88	Jamie Whincup	Holden Commodore ZB	19.966
8	7	Andre Heimgartner	Ford Mustang GT	20.299
9	99	Anton De Pasquale	Holden Commodore ZB	20.847
10	9	David Reynolds	Holden Commodore ZB	24.888
11	12	Fabian Coulthard	Ford Mustang GT	27.703
12	5	Lee Holdsworth	Ford Mustang GT	28.070
13	55	Jack Le Brocq	Ford Mustang GT	28.459
14	44	James Courtney	Ford Mustang GT	30.013
15	14	Todd Hazelwood	Holden Commodore ZB	33.845
16	35	Garry Jacobson	Holden Commodore ZB	34.552
17	2	Bryce Fullwood	Holden Commodore ZB	36.054
18	3	Macauley Jones	Holden Commodore ZB	39.415
19	22	Chris Pither	Holden Commodore ZB	43.344
20	19	Alex Davison	Holden Commodore ZB	44.253
21	34	Zane Goddard	Holden Commodore ZB	45.163
22	15	Rick Kelly	Ford Mustang GT	52.838
23	4	Jack Smith	Holden Commodore ZB	54.164
	6	Cameron Waters	Ford Mustang GT
View full results