How Supercars now needs a new "human salt harvester"
Scott McLaughlin has been a divisive figure in Supercars over the past few years but, as he heads off to a fresh challenge in IndyCar, the Australian tin-top series needs to find someone else to fill his dramatic boots as the category enters a new era
Scott McLaughlin may be a lifelong Greg Murphy fan, bit his career trajectory is tracking much like that of Murph's most famous rival.
In the early-to-mid 2000s, Marcos Ambrose enjoyed a spell of dominance in Supercars in Australia before heading Stateside to live out his NASCAR dream. He was a hard racer, more interested in winning than making friends. His exit at the end of 2005 wasn't exactly met with universal disappointment from the drivers he left behind.
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Andrew van Leeuwen is Motorsport.com's Australian Editor and provides award-winning coverage of Supercars. He started his career working for Australasian Motorsport News in Melbourne, working his way into the top digital editor role before relocating to Mainz, Germany, in 2012. During his three-year stint in Europe he covered a number of series, including the DTM, while working for Autosport, before returning to Australia as part of Motorsport.com's global expansion in early 2015. Alongside his Motorsport.com commitments Andrew is one-third of the successful Below the Bonnet podcast. He lives in Perth with his wife Anne, kids Nico and Billie and chihuahua Coco.
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