Melbourne pre-race collision ends McLaughlin's Supercars domination
Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin's dominant start to 2019 ended in a bizarre pre-race crash with Cam Waters before Saturday's third race on the Australian Grand Prix Formula 1 support bill
McLaughlin was smashed in the right-rear on his way to the grid by fellow Ford Mustang driver Waters, who thought the polesitter had seen he was trying to get past.
Neither DJR Team Penske driver McLaughlin, who earlier in the day had claimed a fourth-straight win at the start of the 2019 Supercars season, or Waters were able to make the start - with Waters's front-left damaged and McLaughlin effectively missing his rear-right wheel.
Explaining the crash to broadcaster Fox Sports, Waters said: "I was kind of following Chaz [Mostert] to get the front so the boys had time to bleed tyres.
"I was passing a few guys and out of [Turn 5] I stayed hard right to try and pass Scotty.
"I thought he'd seen me and he went hard left. I went to go [past], and he went hard right. I clipped his rear wheel.
"It was just shit.
"To be completely honest I was hard right, I was on the edge of the track. When you think a car has seen you and going straight, you don't know where else to go.
"So I'm not taking full responsibility for that. But it shouldn't happen."
McLaughlin said he was "expecting an apology" from Waters.
"I was just driving around the the grid, warming up my tyres like I have been all weekend," he said.
"Those guys come out blazing all the time. I understand they need to get to the grid, but I had no idea he was there. I was doing my normal thing and all of a sudden, 'whack'.
"I certainly don't think [the blame] is on myself. I'm the car in front. He's got vision of me.
"I've got mirrors, but I was doing exactly what I was doing at the other corners. I was doing my procedure. I understand that he was doing his as well... but I'd slowed down a fair bit before I got hit, and then it all happened."
With both front-row starters out before the start, Chaz Mostert overcame the Holdens of Jamie Whincup and Tim Slade to win the race.
The Brad Jones Racing Holdens of Slade and Nick Percat were afforded a clean run to Turn 1 from the second row, but had been split by the time they reached the first corner by Triple Eight driver Whincup, who took the lead from Slade later in the lap.
Mostert set about catching Slade, who had pushed Percat off the road and back to seventh in the process of losing the lead, in the opening stint before pitting on lap 10 of the 25-lap race.
The Tickford driver's attempted undercut went to plan as Mostert cleared Slade and closed in on Whincup, who had stopped a lap later, then slid past the Red Bull Holden on lap 14.
Slade, who rejoined in third after pitting on lap 13, was brought back into play by the intervention of the safety car on lap 20 to allow a wheel from Shane van Gisbergen's Holden to be retrieved.
But a sluggish restart from Whincup on lap 22 allowed Mostert to break away from the pair, before sealing victory by 1.2112 seconds.
Had he been able to start that race, McLaughlin would have been gunning for a fifth victory from as many races after cruising to another win in Saturday morning's second encounter - the 1000th race in the series' history.
McLaughlin had started that race from pole too, and won by 2.5s after easing away from fellow Mustang drivers Mostert - who dropped to fourth at the start - and Waters.
Race two result
Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Laps | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Scott McLaughlin | DJR Penske | Ford | 13 | 25m39.4415s |
2 | Chaz Mostert | Tickford | Ford | 13 | 2.5219s |
3 | Cameron Waters | Tickford | Ford | 13 | 6.4096s |
4 | Jamie Whincup | Triple Eight | Holden | 13 | 7.3124s |
5 | Fabian Coulthard | DJR Penske | Ford | 13 | 10.8209s |
6 | Will Davison | 23Red Racing | Ford | 13 | 11.3897s |
7 | David Reynolds | Erebus | Holden | 13 | 13.1682s |
8 | Tim Slade | Brad Jones | Holden | 13 | 13.8689s |
9 | James Courtney | Walkinshaw | Holden | 13 | 17.2096s |
10 | Shane van Gisbergen | Triple Eight | Holden | 13 | 17.4055s |
11 | Mark Winterbottom | Schwerkolt | Holden | 13 | 18.5849s |
12 | Lee Holdsworth | Tickford | Ford | 13 | 21.5580s |
13 | Anton De Pasquale | Erebus | Holden | 13 | 23.5424s |
14 | Scott Pye | Walkinshaw | Holden | 13 | 24.0966s |
15 | Nick Percat | Brad Jones | Holden | 13 | 24.7191s |
16 | Rick Kelly | Kelly | Nissan | 13 | 25.6755s |
17 | Todd Hazelwood | Matt Stone | Holden | 13 | 28.8461s |
18 | Andre Heimgartner | Kelly | Nissan | 13 | 29.7107s |
19 | Simona de Silvestro | Kelly | Nissan | 13 | 35.6766s |
20 | Jack Le Brocq | Tekno | Holden | 13 | 37.5125s |
21 | Richie Stanaway | GRM | Holden | 13 | 40.2392s |
22 | Macauley Jones | Blanchard/BJR | Holden | 13 | 41.0450s |
23 | James Golding | GRM | Holden | 13 | 41.6083s |
24 | Garry Jacobson | Kelly | Nissan | 13 | 43.1069s |
Race three result
Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Laps | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Chaz Mostert | Tickford | Ford | 25 | 51m50.0007s |
2 | Jamie Whincup | Triple Eight | Holden | 25 | 1.2112s |
3 | Tim Slade | Brad Jones | Holden | 25 | 1.9076s |
4 | David Reynolds | Erebus | Holden | 25 | 2.3881s |
5 | Fabian Coulthard | DJR Penske | Ford | 25 | 3.6410s |
6 | Scott Pye | Walkinshaw | Holden | 25 | 4.8948s |
7 | Will Davison | 23Red Racing | Ford | 25 | 5.2699s |
8 | James Courtney | Walkinshaw | Holden | 25 | 8.6577s |
9 | Nick Percat | Brad Jones | Holden | 25 | 9.4928s |
10 | Andre Heimgartner | Kelly | Nissan | 25 | 9.9821s |
11 | Anton De Pasquale | Erebus | Holden | 25 | 10.3043s |
12 | Lee Holdsworth | Tickford | Ford | 25 | 10.6846s |
13 | Mark Winterbottom | Schwerkolt | Holden | 25 | 10.8525s |
14 | Todd Hazelwood | Matt Stone | Holden | 25 | 11.3706s |
15 | Jack Le Brocq | Tekno | Holden | 25 | 12.2328s |
16 | Rick Kelly | Kelly | Nissan | 25 | 12.5768s |
17 | Richie Stanaway | GRM | Holden | 25 | 12.9103s |
18 | Simona de Silvestro | Kelly | Nissan | 25 | 12.9279s |
19 | James Golding | GRM | Holden | 25 | 13.6933s |
20 | Garry Jacobson | Kelly | Nissan | 25 | 16.1471s |
21 | Macauley Jones | Blanchard/BJR | Holden | 25 | 16.7495s |
22 | Shane van Gisbergen | Triple Eight | Holden | 23 | 2 Laps |
- | Cameron Waters | Tickford | Ford | 0 | Not started |
- | Scott McLaughlin | DJR Penske | Ford | 0 | Not started |
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