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Scott McLaughlin says his Ford Mustang feels good despite a mid-session spin in practice at The Bend Motorsport Park.
McLaughlin set the 16th fastest time in damp conditions for the Shell V-Power Racing Team while team-mate Fabian Coulthard topped the timesheets.
Practice 2 at the Repco SuperSprint was punctuated by a spin at the Turn 9 right hander for McLaughlin, who promptly returned to the pit lane.
“I thought I’d go and mow the lawn for them at The Bend,” McLaughlin joked.
“I’m trying to maximise the car and the car was so good through that portion.
“I just got over-eager with the throttle and just cut the grass on the last part of the right and spun off.
“But the car feels really good in the dry and in the wet it was pretty good too.”
McLaughlin said he couldn’t show his full potential in the session due to the worsening conditions.
Several drivers fellow victim to the conditions late in the piece, Brad Jones Racing duo Nick Percat and Todd Hazelwood also having off-road excursions.
“We’ve got a few tuneables around that as well to get us feeling good,” said McLaughlin.
“We threw a set of tyres on it and it felt pretty solid. We had better conditions initially and then it started raining a fair bit, the aquaplaning down the front straight is pretty bad.
“There’s a massive shine on the track and there’s a couple of train tracks you’ve got to follow and if you miss them, she’s a big moment.”
Practice 2 pace-setter Coulthard labelled conditions ‘pretty sketchy’ after the first Supercars laps in the wet.
Coulthard set the quickest time in the second outing before heavier rain fell in the final third of the session.
He was still one of the quickest drivers as the conditions worsened, setting a time some 20 seconds slower than his benchmark.
“It reminds me a little bit of New Zealand before they made an adjustment to the track at Pukekohe down the back straight,” he said referring to a recent track resurfacing.
“I think it’s going to be a common word we speak about, aquaplaning, if it continues to rain like it has.”
Qualifying for Race 25 of the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship, which culminates in a Top 15 Shootout, starts at 12:10 local time/12:40 AEST.
