Scott McLaughlin admitted he was lucky to recover from a costly driver error to finish second in a hectic Race 11 at the CrownBet Darwin Triple Crown.

McLaughlin emerged as an early race favourite hassling pole-sitter Rick Kelly for the lead before running wide at Turn 1, while attempting to overtake the Nissan on lap 2.

The mistake dropped the DJR Team Penske driver from second to sixth in the process.

However, McLaughlin was able to stage a comeback despite initially stalling his car during his mandatory pit stop.

The recovery was subsequently aided by Shane van Gisbergen’s demise when the Triple Eight driver suffered a puncture, which was then followed by the emergence of the Safety Car due to Rick Kelly’s crash at Turn 10.

Lying fourth on the restart, McLaughlin was able to swiftly pass the Brad Jones Racing duo of Tim Slade and Nick Percat to snare second.

McLaughlin then followed his DJRTP team-mate Fabian Coulthard home to score a one-two finish for the Queensland squad.

“Unfortunately, obviously that second lap, I had that little mistake It did, cost me a bit,” said McLaughlin

“I was lucky to get away with it, and it was just a case of putting my head down and get on with it.

“Ludo (Lacroix engineer) was great with me on the radio and pumped me up and got me going and I think it was nice to finish the race one-two.”

McLaughlin felt Coulthard’s pace was too strong for him to challenge for the victory in the closing laps.

“I was just watching Fabian go ‘round; he was pretty fast in places and I wasn’t, I actually learned a little bit there,” McLaughlin added.

“I was pushing in places where I felt faster, then he was faster in others, so it was like a little fifty-fifty yo-yo effect. We were both pushing hard but I was also watching the gap back to Nick (Percat in third).

“At the end of the day it’s one of those things where Fabian was driving every lap fantastically and he gave me no opportunity for that.

“At the end of the day it was awesome racing and I enjoy that and we’ve got a healthy respect for each other.”

McLaughlin remains third in the standings albeit 40 points adrift of team-mate and championship leader Coulthard.

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Automotive & Performance

Btuned is a premier European vehicle specialist based in North Lakes, Queensland, servicing clients across Australia’s Eastern Seaboard. With over 45 years of combined hands-on experience—including decades of factory training with brands like BMW, MINI,...

Btuned is a premier European vehicle specialist based in North Lakes, Queensland, servicing clients across Australia’s Eastern Seaboard. With over 45 years of combined hands-on...