Pukekohe Supercars: McLaughlin fastest despite spin in P1

The DJR Team Penske driver effectively led the way throughout the session, going fastest early with a 1m03.080s before spinning at the hairpin.

That time proved hard to beat, and it wasn't until McLaughlin made an early switch to green tyres – looking to use the dry conditions for a qualifying simulation – that he went quicker.

The improvement was a 1m02.715s, good enough for McLaughlin to be able to sit out the last couple of minutes of the session and still end up comfortably on top.

"It might rain this afternoon, so it was nice to get a feel before qualifying tomorrow if it is dry," said McLaughlin.

"The car feels nice. [I had] a couple of little offs, but just trying to find the limit.

"The track is quite green, there's not much grip out there at moment. Trying to brake where you did last year isn't working.

"It's okay, as long as we're fastest that's the main thing."

McLaughlin's teammate Fabian Coulthard was second fastest, jumping to within two-tenths of top spot right at the flag.

Jamie Whincup was third fastest, like Coulthard improving right at the flag to put the key title contenders one-two-three.

Tim Slade was best of the rest in fourth, knocking David Reynolds down to fifth on his final lap.

James Courtney improved to sixth at the end of the session, ahead of James Moffat, Lee Holdsworth, Craig Lowndes, and Jason Bright.

Chaz Mostert was just 11th fastest, failing to find much time on his final run having sat second before the late flurry of times.

Shane van Gisbergen, another driver technically still in the title fight, finished up way down in 19th.

The fast Pukekohe circuit claimed a couple of scalps throughout the session, the first being LD Motorsport newcomer Jack Perkins, who hit the wall coming onto the main straight.

His teammate Aaren Russell later brought out the session's sole red flag when he buried his Commodore in the sand on the outside of Turn 1 after a high-speed off.

Cla	#	Driver	Car	Time	Gap
1	17	Scott McLaughlin	Ford Falcon FG-X	1'02.7153
2	12	Fabian Coulthard	Ford Falcon FG/X	1'02.8831	0.1678
3	88	Jamie Whincup	Holden Commodore VF	1'02.9404	0.2251
4	14	Tim Slade	Holden Commodore VF	1'03.0376	0.3223
5	9	David Reynolds	Holden Commodore VF	1'03.0780	0.3627
6	22	James Courtney	Holden Commodore VF	1'03.1069	0.3916
7	34	James Moffat	Holden Commodore VF	1'03.1516	0.4363
8	18	Lee Holdsworth	Holden Commodore VF	1'03.2604	0.5451
9	888	Craig Lowndes	Holden Commodore VF	1'03.2850	0.5697
10	56	Jason Bright	Ford Falcon FG-X	1'03.3041	0.5888
11	55	Chaz Mostert	Ford Falcon FG-X	1'03.3278	0.6125
12	5	Mark Winterbottom	Ford Falcon FG-X	1'03.3955	0.6802
13	8	Nick Percat	Holden Commodore VF	1'03.4314	0.7161
14	99	Dale Wood	Holden Commodore VF	1'03.4705	0.7552
15	15	Rick Kelly	Nissan Altima	1'03.4837	0.7684
16	2	Scott Pye	Holden Commodore VF	1'03.5151	0.7998
17	19	Will Davison	Holden Commodore VF	1'03.5164	0.8011
18	23	Michael Caruso	Nissan Altima	1'03.5468	0.8315
19	97	Shane van Gisbergen	Holden Commodore VF	1'03.5736	0.8583
20	78	Simona de Silvestro	Nissan Altima	1'03.7024	0.9871
21	7	Todd Kelly	Nissan Altima	1'03.7566	1.0413
22	21	Tim Blanchard	Holden Commodore VF	1'03.7807	1.0654
23	33	Garth Tander	Holden Commodore VF	1'03.8380	1.1227
24	6	Cameron Waters	Ford Falcon FG-X	1'03.8730	1.1577
25	3	Aaren Russell	Holden Commodore VF	1'04.3905	1.6752
26	62	Jack Perkins	Holden Commodore VF	1'04.8697	2.1544