McLaughlin wins Race 2 as McIntyre takes series lead

John McIntyre has jumped into the lead of the V8 SuperTourers Sprint Series with just one race to go after a dramatic morning at the Mike Pero 250 at Hampton Downs.

In a race peppered by Safety Car periods, Scott McLaughlin emerged to take his second straight win, adding to his win yesterday.

McLaughlin made solid passes on both Jonny Reid and early leader Andy Booth, and at each restart, was able to take a usable margin that prevented Booth from making a serious attempt for the lead.

Reid was holding third and looking likely to increase his points tally before gearbox gremlins struck and forced him to a dramatic halt just shy of the pit lane entry. This brought out a Safety Car, but more significantly, allowed McIntyre to leapfrog Reid in the race and the points.

After high expectations, it was a disappointing race for International Motorsport. Reid’s team-mate Ant Pedersen flat-spotted a front tyre early on and pitted for a replacement during the first Safety Car, brought out for a Steven Richards spin. The crew ran out of time to get the wheel changed before the field came round and he re-joined one lap in arrears.

Booth had a good race in the AV8 Woodstock Holden and re-affirmed his pace at the North Waikato circuit. With regular Safety Car periods helping protect his rear tyres, he was a constant threat to the leader and always looks assured in second place.

On a good morning for AV8, Andre Heimgartner proved competitive, holding third in the Pink Batts/Superlux Holden until the latter stages of the race when McIntyre muscled his way through and into third position. Fourth was the best result in the championship so far for the youngster.

Greg Murphy took fifth, ahead of Andy Knight, Craig Baird, Daniel Gaunt in the new Tasman Motorsports Ford Falcon, Eddie Bell and Kayne Scott.

With one race to go on this afternoon, McIntyre leads the table with 1911 points, 60 ahead of Reid on 1851.

Results, Race 2