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Perth Supercars: McLaughlin ends Friday on top

Scott McLaughlin finished Friday's running at Barbagallo Raceway as the pacesetter, while David Reynolds and Craig Lowndes both missed out on automatic Q2 spots.

Scott McLaughlin, DJR Team Penske Ford

Scott McLaughlin, DJR Team Penske Ford

Bob Gloyn Photography

It was a relatively slow start to the session, the likes of Shane van Gisbergen and Reynolds sitting on top with times in the mid-56.1s, just above the cut-off time required for those still looking for a spot in the combined Top 10.

McLaughlin then went quickest right on the midway point of the session, although his 55.988s could have been better had he not locked up at the last corner.

With just over a quarter of an hour to go both Fabian Coulthard and Rick Kelly moved into the combined Top 10 for the first time with the first and second quickest times, Coulthard with a 55.879s and Kelly with a 55.962s.

Three minutes later Chaz Mostert did likewise, charging to the top with a 55.631s, to that point the quickest time of the day.

The next wave of quick times came with five minutes to go, rookie Jack Le Brocq backing up his Top 10 with a 55.463s to go fastest before Scott Pye moved ahead of him with a 54.887s.

Then, with just over four minutes to go, McLaughlin pulled his favourite trick, decimating the field with a 54.887s to go 0.5s clear.

The gap did come down thanks to come late improvements, Cam Waters closing to within 0.01s on his final run, but nobody could beat one-lap superstar McLaughlin.

"I kept stuffing up the third sector all day," said McLaughlin.

"I really didn't get a nice banker before that lap, so I was pretty nervous that whole green tyre lap. If I made a stuff-up I was out.

"I was just trying to bring it home, I think there's a lot more in myself. It's just nice to be in the 10, I'm stressed out with this qualifying system. It's full on."

The final three minutes of the session determined the rest of the automatic Q2 qualifiers behind McLaughlin.

Waters was comfortably second, while Coulthard improved to a 55.034s on his last run. Jamie Whincup popped up into fourth at the end, while the absolute standout rookie was Anton De Pasquale, who was fifth quickest with a 55.197s.

Mark Winterbottom made up for missing the Top 10 in Practice 1 with the sixth quickest time, while Tim Slade was another driver to rescue his Q2 hopes in the second session.

Mostert slipped back to eighth, but still made it three Tickford Fords in Q2, while Shane van Gisbergen was ninth quickest after missing the 10 this morning.

Simona de Silvestro was the last driver to bank an automatic Q2 spot, with David Reynolds surprisingly missing out, finishing up on the bubble in 11th.

There were a few drivers who went from inside the Top 10 this morning to out of it this evening, including Practice 1 pacesetter Andre Heimgartner, who was just 21st.

Scott Pye and Lee Holdsworth lost ground too, while Craig Lowndes went from third this morning to last this evening after catching traffic on his best lap.

Rick Kelly, who was second quickest with a quarter of an hour to go, ended up down in 16th.

Everyone outside of the Top 10 will start with Q1 tomorrow.

ClaDriverCarTimeGap
1 17 new_zealand  Scott McLaughlin  Ford Falcon FG X 54.8871  
2 6 australia  Cameron Waters  Ford Falcon FG X 54.9051 0.0180
3 12 new_zealand  Fabian Coulthard  Ford Falcon FG X 55.0348 0.1477
4 1 australia  Jamie Whincup  Holden Commodore ZB 55.0828 0.1957
5 99 australia  Anton de Pasquale  Holden Commodore ZB 55.1977 0.3106
6 5 australia  Mark Winterbottom  Ford Falcon FG X 55.2121 0.3250
7 14 australia  Tim Slade  Holden Commodore ZB 55.3189 0.4318
8 55 australia  Chaz Mostert  Ford Falcon FG X 55.3333 0.4462
9 97 new_zealand  Shane van Gisbergen  Holden Commodore ZB 55.3381 0.4510
10 78 switzerland  Simona de Silvestro  Nissan Altima 55.3487 0.4616
11 9 australia  David Reynolds  Holden Commodore ZB 55.3730 0.4859
12 23 australia  Michael Caruso  Nissan Altima 55.3753 0.4882
13 8 australia  Nick Percat  Holden Commodore ZB 55.3831 0.4960
14 2 australia  Scott Pye  Holden Commodore ZB 55.4028 0.5157
15 400 australia  Will Davison  Ford Falcon FG X 55.4048 0.5177
16 15 australia  Rick Kelly  Nissan Altima 55.4295 0.5424
17 19 australia  Jack Le Brocq  Holden Commodore ZB 55.4638 0.5767
18 18 australia  Matt Brabham 
australia  Lee Holdsworth 
Holden Commodore ZB 55.5416 0.6545
19 33 australia  Garth Tander  Holden Commodore ZB 55.5609 0.6738
20 25 australia  James Courtney  Holden Commodore ZB 55.5819 0.6948
21 7 new_zealand  Andre Heimgartner  Nissan Altima 55.6492 0.7621
22 21 australia  Tim Blanchard  Holden Commodore ZB 55.6877 0.8006
23 35 australia  Todd Hazelwood  Ford Falcon FG X 55.7923 0.9052
24 56 new_zealand  Richie Stanaway  Ford Falcon FG X 55.8108 0.9237
25 34 australia  James Golding  Holden Commodore ZB 55.8288 0.9417
26 888 australia  Craig Lowndes  Holden Commodore ZB 56.1100 1.2229

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