Ford gun Scott McLaughlin has returned fire at Dave Reynolds and labelled his Holden rival immature as the Supercars stars continue their public slanging match.
Reynolds called McLaughlin “boring”, “precious” and “corporatised” this week following the New Zealander’s rise to the top of the sport and utter domination this season.
The simmering feud first erupted when their cars collided at the Townsville 400 last month and McLaughlin accused Reynolds of a “desperado” move.
McLaughlin has won 14 of 20 races for DJR Team Penske this season and leads the drivers’ standing by 433 points ahead of teammate Fabian Coulthard. Reynolds is 678 points behind in sixth.
Penrite Racing’s Reynolds has suggested all season that McLaughlin’s new Ford Mustang is largely responsible for his stellar form in 2019.
Reynolds doubled down this week and went after the Kiwi’s character, claiming McLaughlin is “not what he used to be” when racing for Garry Rogers Motorsport.
McLaughlin hit back after posting a practice lap record The Bend SuperSprint in South Australia on Friday.
“It’s one of those things where it’s always going to be different when you go to other teams and there’s a lot of pressures that comes with that … some people grow up and some people don’t and I think we can tell which one (of us) has grown up,” McLaughlin said.
“I think I’m the same person I’ve always been, I just understand I’ve got a bit more on my shoulders and now I’m in a completely different position.
“My team at Garry Rogers was awesome for me and I really enjoyed that but the pressure was different where I was looked at as the underdog and now there’s the pressure for me … I can have a crack at winning every race so it’s just a different way of going about things.”