Phillip Island Supercars: McLaughlin storms to pole position

McLaughlin wasted no time when the final part of qualifying began, the 25-year-old bolting in a 1m29.544s flyer to lead an early 1-2 for DJR Team Penske.

McLaughlin boxed in soon after, seemingly confident that his lap time would not be usurped. And indeed nobody could lap within touching distance of the reigning champion as he claimed his second pole position of the weekend by over six tenths of a second.

Fabian Coulthard also held on to second place with his first run to ensure an all-front row for the Penske squad, ahead of Chaz Mostert (Tickford).

Erebus driver Anton De Pasquale led the charge for Holden in qualifying, finishing just 0.0002s behind Mostert to secure a spot on the outside of the second row.

Tickford’s Cameron Waters was classified another tenth adrift in fifth, ahead of the 23Red Racing entry of Will Davison.

Both Red Bull Holden drivers failed to land automatic spots for Q2, but were successfully able to escape Q1 elimination and then make it to the final part of the qualifying.

However, neither could qualify at the sharp end of the pack, with Shane van Gisbergen seventh fastest and Jamie Whincup only 10th.

Whincup ran fourth after his first run with a time of 1m30.8483s, but a decision to box early left him plunging down the order.

The two Triple Eight-run entries were separated by Matt Stone Racing’s Todd Hazelwood and Walkinshaw Andretti United’s James Courtney.

David Reynolds was the the biggest casualty in Q1, the Erebus driver missing the cut by 0.145s.

Mark Winterbottom, likewise, failed to progress to the second leg of qualifying and will line up 19th on the grid, three places behind Reynolds.

Qualifying results:

Cla	#	Driver	Car	Time
1	17	Scott McLaughlin	Ford Mustang GT	1'29.5421
2	12	Fabian Coulthard	Ford Mustang GT	1'30.1787
3	55	Chaz Mostert	Ford Mustang GT	1'30.2771
4	99	Anton De Pasquale	Holden Commodore ZB	1'30.2774
5	6	Cameron Waters	Ford Mustang GT	1'30.3536
6	23	Will Davison	Ford Mustang GT	1'30.3807
7	97	Shane van Gisbergen	Holden Commodore ZB	1'30.5526
8	35	Todd Hazelwood	Holden Commodore ZB	1'30.6512
9	22	James Courtney	Holden Commodore ZB	1'30.7925
10	88	Jamie Whincup	Holden Commodore ZB	1'30.8482
11	15	Rick Kelly	Nissan Altima L33	1'30.9520
12	8	Nick Percat	Holden Commodore ZB	1'31.0314
13	7	Andre Heimgartner	Nissan Altima L33	1'31.2478
14	34	James Golding	Holden Commodore ZB	1'31.4622
15	200	Scott Pye	Holden Commodore ZB	1'31.0300
16	9	David Reynolds	Holden Commodore ZB	1'31.0909
17	33	Richie Stanaway	Holden Commodore ZB	1'31.1056
18	5	Lee Holdsworth	Ford Mustang GT	1'31.2861
19	18	Mark Winterbottom	Holden Commodore ZB	1'31.3860
20	14	Tim Slade	Holden Commodore ZB	1'31.5040
21	3	Garry Jacobson	Nissan Altima L33	1'31.5159
22	21	Macauley Jones	Holden Commodore ZB	1'31.6205
23	78	Simona de Silvestro	Nissan Altima L33	1'31.7594
24	19	Jack Le Brocq	Holden Commodore ZB	1'31.8194