COULTHARD BACK TO THE TOP IN SYDNEY
SYDNEY MOTORSPORT PARK SUPERSPRINT – SATURDAY AUGUST 19 - PRACTICE, QUALIFYING & RACE 17
Fabian Coulthard - No. 12 Shell V-Power Racing Ford
Practice 3 – 4th (Fastest Lap: 1m29.3489s)
Qualifying – 4th (Fastest Lap: 1m28.5972s (under old lap record)
Race 17 – FIRST (Fastest Lap: 1m30.6083s (Under old race lap record)
Scott McLaughlin - No. 17 Shell V-Power Racing Ford
Practice 3 – 2nd (Fastest Lap: 1m29.1059s)
Qualifying – FIRST (Fastest Lap: 1m28.3209s (New lap record)
Race 17 – 10th (Fastest Lap: 1m30.6414s (Under old race lap record)
Fabian Coulthard took his fourth victory of 2017 at the Sydney Motorsport Park SuperSprint today, closing the Championship gap.
It was the team's 10th victory of the season, and one that saw its lead in the Teams' Championship extend to 231 points.
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Fabian Coulthard - No. 12 Shell V-Power Racing Ford
RECAP: Coulthard was strong all day, netting a fourth place qualifying result. He got a solid start from the second row of the grid, and settled into fourth place. When the pit stops began to unfold he ran consistent laps and good work from the crew saw him gain positions in pit lane. He was fifth at the late race Safety Car restart, before an incident at Turn 2 saw him jump into second place. He then used his fresher tyres to overtake McLaughlin for the lead and then drive away to a three second victory, his fourth of the season. It also saw him close the gap to both Whincup and teammate McLaughlin in the Championship.
QUOTE: “There’s lots that can go right, and lots that can go wrong in our sport and today was a great example of that. I’ve had a great result, but it’s a shame for Scott to have some issues. The Shell V-Power Racing Team did a great job with strategy and pit stops for me today, and when the Safety Car came out I felt confident of a good result. Great to get another win, and we’ll aim to do the same again tomorrow.”
Scott McLaughlin - No. 17 Shell V-Power Racing Ford
RECAP: McLaughlin had a bittersweet day, where he wrapped up the ARMOR ALL Pole Position award with his 12th pole of the season – continuing a streak of seven poles and 15 front row starts in succession. He lost the lead off the start, however with good strategy got it back through the pit stops. A late race restart that is under review by the stewards lead to an incident between McLaughlin and Van Gisbergen at turn two, which meant Scott received a 15-second time penalty. He crossed the line second, but dropped to 10th once the penalty was applied. He continues to lead the Championship by 80 points from Jamie Whincup.
QUOTE: “The car was good, and we pitted early to get track position. The safety car wasn’t great for us, and the restart was a weird one. We’ll have to look at the rule book there. Heading into turn two I made a bad judgement, made an error and got a penalty. When you do the crime, you’ve got to do the time. The best part about our sport is that I get to have another shot and try again tomorrow.”
DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
1. Scott McLaughlin 1974
2. Jamie Whincup 1896
3. Fabian Coulthard 1813
4. Shane Van Gisbergen 1695
5. Chaz Mostert 1683
6. Mark Winterbottom 1455
7. Craig Lowndes 1413
8. David Reynolds 1311
9. Garth Tander 1296
10. Cameron Waters 1255
TEAMS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
1. Shell V-Power Racing Team 3822
2. Triple Eight Race Engineering (Whincup/Van Gisbergen) 3591
3. Prodrive Racing Australia (Winterbottom/Waters) 2745
4. Garry Rogers Motorsport 2325
5. Erebus Motorsport 1896
6. Brad Jones Racing 1866
7. Walkinshaw Racing 1827
8. Nissan Motorsport (R. Kelly/T. Kelly) 1785
9. Prodrive Racing Australia (Mostert) 1683
10. Nissan NISMO (Caruso/De Silvestro) 1602
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