McLaughlin scorches to Race 12 Shootout pole

Scott McLaughlin claimed his seventh pole position of the season following a stunning display in the Armor All Top 10 Shootout at Darwin.

The DJR Team Penske driver proved untouchable with the Kiwi the only man to clock time in the 1:05s bracket, as he enjoyed a 0.3s margin over nearest rival Jamie Whincup (Red Bull Holden).

After topping the morning qualifying session, McLaughlin, who was the last man out in the shootout, delivered once again, posting a 1:05.72s effort.

“It was awesome. I didn’t think that ( a 1:05.7s) was possible. The track was very greasy but the car was fantastic. We had a think about our bars and just got it done, it was awesome.”

Whincup emerged as a genuine contender for pole after a tidy run from the six-time champion but was left to settle for second.

“I don’t think I got many three tenths up the road (poles), I’m sure I got a few but not many,” said Whincup.

“The car’s good, we got a good lap in, but those boys are certainly operating at a different level, so we’ve got some work to do.

“We won’t get disheartened by it, we’ll keep our head down and motor on.

“The car was good, we maximised our performance today without doubt.”

Garry Rogers Motorsport’s James Moffat produced one of his finest qualifying performances to claim an impressive third ahead of championship leader Fabian Coulthard.

“I think the last time I was in a Shootout was the Gold Coast last year so it’s been a while, but great job by the team,” said Moffat.

“The car’s been mega all day and it’s been quick all weekend to be honest, so we’re in amongst the big boys, starting third, so it’s a good spot to be.”

Coulthard admitted his lap was not among his finest highlighted by an error on the Turn 1 exit, which left him 0.5s adrift of team-mate McLaughlin.

“It was okay, it wasn’t great, but can’t take anything away from Scotty, that was awesome,” said Coulthard.

“We’ve got quick cars, we just can’t seem to make it work on a new tyre so we need to have a long, hard look and work out why.”

Shane van Gisbergen will start from fifth in his #97 Red Bull Holden that appeared to show an improvement in the handling which has troubled the reigning champion this weekend.

Lee Holdsworth briefly held the top spot after a solid run on used tyres before slipping down to an eventual sixth for Preston Hire Racing.

David Reynolds was left to settle for seventh after locking his right front on the entry to Turn 5 on his lap having set the fastest first sector at that stage of the shootout.

The top 10 was completed by Prodrive’s Cameron Waters, Craig Lowndes (Triple Eight) and Nick Pecart (Brad Jones Racing).

The Supercars field will head out on track for Race 12 at 1330 local time.

Results: ARMOR ALL Top 10 Shootout for Race 12, CrownBet Darwin Triple Crown