Supercars supremo Scott McLaughlin’s dominance continued at the Ipswich SuperSprint as he posted a practice lap record at Queensland Raceway on Friday.
McLaughlin stopped the clock at one minute 8.8227 seconds but the Kiwi said he only nailed one of three sections on the track.
McLaughlin has dominated all season and leads the drivers’ standings by 292 points ahead of his DJR Team Penske teammate Fabian Coulthard.
The duo have won 15 of 18 races in 2019 in their Ford Mustangs and McLaughlin said there was plenty more to come this weekend.
“This format makes you want to just get the (fastest) lap and get through, so I was probably a little bit safe today, there were a few things I probably could have pushed the barrel a bit more,” McLaughlin said.
“Overall it was a pretty solid day. I got one out of three sectors right I think so I’ll just try and get three tomorrow.”
Coulthard was filthy with his efforts after finishing 0.39 seconds behind McLaughlin in seventh.
“I turn the steering wheel and it doesn’t do anything, so I’m just sailing past apexes. I feel like this is my first day as a race car driver,” Coulthard said.
“We tested here last week and came here with a car that’s very similar and it feels like I’m driving a different car.
“So it’s tough and a little bit frustrating but we’ve got overnight to look at a few things.”
Milwaukee Racing’s Will Davison finished second and said he was feeling confident but never comfortable ahead of the opening race on Saturday.
“It was tough today to be honest, our primary goal was top 10 and we did that comfortably but the sun comes out here, the cloud comes over and it changes drastically the grip level,” Davison said.
“You never underestimate anyone and you’re never comfortable in this game, you just have to focus on what you’re doing.”
Tickford Racing star Chaz Mostert rounded out the top three but was left asking his team for more in the pit lanes.
“We put a bit of pressure on ourselves coming in, we’ve been in pretty good form over the years here but we haven’t rolled out as strong as I would like to,” Mostert said.
“I usually go alright at this place but the car has to give me a bit more feedback.
“So putting the pressure on the internals here, I’d love to get a couple of trophies this weekend.”