Event
statistics following the third race of the 2018 Supercars Championship season,
Race #1 of the Coates Hire Supercars Melbourne 400 at the Albert Park Grand
Prix Circuit in Melbourne.
Scott
McLaughlin picked up his first victory of 2018, besting runner-up Jamie Whincup
by 1.3041 seconds. McLaughlin’s Shell-V Power Racing Team teammate, Fabian
Coulthard, was third.
Race
Statistics
Melbourne
400 (Race #1)
Albert
Park Grand Prix Circuit – Melbourne, Victoria
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Winner (starting position): Scott McLaughlin (1st)
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Top Five: Scott McLaughlin, Jamie Whincup, Fabian Coulthard, Shane van
Gisbergen, Chaz Mostert
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Full Results: Scott McLaughlin, Jamie Whincup, Fabian Coulthard, Shane van
Gisbergen, Chaz Mostert, Scott Pye, David Reynolds, Garth Tander, Nick Percat
Tim Slade, Cameron Waters, James Courtney, Michael Caruso, Mark Winterbottom,
Anton de Pasquale, Craig Lowndes, Rick Kelly, Andre Heimgartner, Lee Holdsworth,
Jack Le Brocq, James Golding, Todd Hazelwood, Tim Blanchard, Richie Stanaway,
Will Davison, Simona De Silvestro
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Laps Completed: 25
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Race Leaders: 5
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Laps Led: Scott McLaughlin (19), Nick Percat (2), Jamie Whincup (1), Fabian
Coulthard (1), Michael Caruso (1), Andre Heimgartner (1)
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Pole Position: Scott McLaughlin (1 minute, 54.6016 seconds)
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Hard Charger: Michael Caruso (+11; 24th to 13th)
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Fastest Lap: Tim Slade (1 minute, 17.194 seconds)
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Margin of Victory: 1.3041 seconds
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Car Count: 26
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Cars Entered: 26
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Cars Running at Finish: 25 (of 26; or 96 percent of the field)
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Drivers to Finish on Lead Lap: 25
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Cautions: None
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Average Speed: 157.654 kph/97.962 mph
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Lead Changes: 6
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Manufacturer Breakdown: Holden (14); Ford (8); Nissan (4)
Notes of Interest – Race/Weekend Recap
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This is Scott McLaughlin’s first Supercars Championship victory of the season
and the 17th of his career.
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McLaughlin has won at least one race in each of the last three seasons and five
out of the last six. He did not win a race in 2015. He won eight races in 2017.
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McLaughlin becomes the first driver to win a points race at Melbourne. Previous
races have been contested but not been part of the championship.
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McLaughlin’s victory gave New Zealand drivers three victories in the first
three races this season. Shane van Gisbergen won the first two races as part of
the Adelaide 500 earlier this month.
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McLaughlin’s victory came from the pole position, marking the 12th time he has
scored a victory from the top-starting spot.
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McLaughlin led 19 laps. That marks the current record for most laps led at
Melbourne in Supercars Championship points races at the track.
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McLaughlin’s pole position was the 34th of his career. He’s earned at least one
pole position in each of the last five seasons. He started on pole a
series-high 16 times in 2017.
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Ford earned its first victory of the 2018 season and holds the distinction of
becoming the first manufacturer to win a race, and pole, during a points-paying
Supercars Championship race at Melbourne. It marked Ford’s first win since
McLaughlin won the penultimate race of 2017 at Newcastle Street Circuit in New
South Wales.
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Jamie Whincup finished second, the only other driver to lead the race. It was a
season-best finish for Whincup, whose previous best was sixth in Race #1 of the
Adelaide 500. Whincup was also the highest-finishing driver of a Holden.
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Fabian Coulthard, McLaughlin’s teammate, was third, notching his first top-10
finish of the season after a best finish of 16th during the two Adelaide 500
races. That put two New Zealand drivers on the podium for the second time this
season.
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Shane van Gisbergen, the winner of both races at the Adelaide 500, placed
fourth, continuing his streak of consecutive top fives, set at three straight,
to start the season. Van Gisbergen has four consecutive top fives dating back
to last year’s season finale at Newcastle Street Circuit.
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Van Gisbergen’s fourth-place run ensured three New Zealand drivers finished in
the top four for the first time since the second race of the 2017 Vodafone Gold
Coast 600, which consisted of two drivers in each car (Scott McLaughlin, win;
Shane van Gisbergen, second; and Steven Richards, fourth). It was the first
time with solo driver lineups since the second race of the Red Rooster Sydney
Super Sprint at Sydney Motorsports Park last August (Coulthard, second; van Gisbergen,
third; McLaughlin, fourth)
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Hometown driver Chaz Mostert finished fifth, his second consecutive top-five
finish and third top-10 result to open 2018.
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Others recording or tying season-best finishes included Scott Pye (6th); Nick
Percat (9th); Tim Slade (10th); Anton de Pasquale (15th); Jack LeBrocq (20th); and
Tim Blanchard (23rd).
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Simona De Silvestro was the race’s only retirement, when she dropped out following
an accident after completing three laps.
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A total of 13 drivers improved on their starting position in the race.
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The next race will be Saturday, March 24, with the second of four races from
the Melbourne 400.
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