Volvo Polestar Racing driver Scott McLaughlin scored important points in the V8 Supercars weekend at Winton Motor Raceway with two top ten finishes.
"This weekend hasn't been too bad. There is more to come and we got some points with us that are vital for the championship," said McLaughlin.
The first race saw the Kiwi being tapped into a spin by Dale Wood, dropping to last position. Both race two and three had McLaughlin taking the checkered flag in ninth position, climbing the order from his grid position in the final race.
"We stuffed up our qualifying for the last race but still ended up in 11th, showing that we have a good car. You got to get that qualifying right, this category is so competitive and you need to be on your toes. I made my way forward in the race but the car probably wasn't the best on soft tyres, it chewed them up a bit too much. There are still a few niggling issues in the car that we need to work with, but we have had an okay weekend to build on," said McLaughlin.
David Wall fought hard in the three races and looked set for a top ten finish in the final race with a different pit stop strategy that saw him pitting on lap one. But a safety car session later in the race meant that he had to wait behind McLaughlin in the pits and lost vital ground.
"I got a good start to the race with our strategy paying pretty well. I had really good pace on the hard tyres for a long period of time, being in your own clear air. With that safety car I think we gave away a genuine good result. But that is racing and I am happy with the pace we had during the race," said Wall.
The V8 Supercars resumes in four weeks with the Darwin SuperSprint, marking the fifth race weekend of 2015.
"We are still not where we want to be, but this weekend has been a step forward in terms of reliability. Scott and David are doing a good job fighting on and I have no doubt that we will take another step forward in the next race," said Christian Dahl, CEO of Polestar.
Winton SuperSprint - V8 Supercars
Circuit: Winton Motor Raceway
Length: 3000 m
Lap record (V8SC): 1:22.9831, Marcus Marshall (2009)
Results
Race 10 - Top 5
1 Chaz Mostert Ford Falcon 20 laps
2 Mark Winterbottom Ford Falcon +2.8733
3 Michael Caruso Nissan Altima +5.1687
4 David Reynolds Ford Falcon +6.5664
5 Todd Kelly Nissan Altima +9.0419
+óGé¼-ª
21 David Wall Volvo S60 +29.8624
25 Scott McLaughlin Volvo S60 +1:15.4123
Race 11 - Top 5
1 Mark Winterbottom Ford Falcon 20 laps
2 Rick Kelly Nissan Altima +0.8377
3 Chaz Mostert Ford Falcon +2.6165
4 David Reynolds Ford Falcon +2.9731
5 Shane Van Gisbergen Holden Commodore +4.4914
+óGé¼-ª
9 Scott McLaughlin Volvo S60 +11.3298
19 David Wall Volvo S60 +29.3832
Race 12 - Top 5
1 Mark Winterbottom Ford Falcon 67 laps
2 Fabian Coulthard Holden Commodore +1.8980
3 Craig Lowndes Holden Commodore +5.8240
4 Michael Caruso Nissan Altima +17.6725
5 Garth Tander Holden Commodore +22.6707
+óGé¼-ª
9 Scott McLaughlin Volvo S60 +29.8158
18 David Wall Volvo S60 +53.7243
Qualifying for Race 10 - Top 5
1 Chaz Mostert Ford Falcon 1:25.1215
2 Michael Caruso Nissan Altima +0.1061
3 David Reynolds Ford Falcon +0.1832
4 Mark Winterbottom Ford Falcon +0.2094
5 Todd Kelly Nissan Altima +0.2202
+óGé¼-ª
23 David Wall Volvo S60 +1.6218
25 Scott McLaughlin Volvo S60 N/A
Qualifying for Race 11 - Top 5
1 Chaz Mostert Ford Falcon 1:24.0970
2 Mark Winterbottom Ford Falcon +0.1028
3 David Reynolds Ford Falcon +0.1294
4 Rick Kelly Nissan Altima +0.3446
5 Will Davison Mercedes E63 AMG +0.3978
+óGé¼-ª
9 Scott McLaughlin Volvo S60 +0.5979
24 David Wall Volvo S60 +1.3877
Qualifying for Race 12 - Top 5
1 Chaz Mostert Ford Falcon 1:23.1334
2 Mark Winterbottom Ford Falcon +0.1890
3 David Reynolds Ford Falcon +0.3577
4 Michael Caruso Nissan Altima +0.4625
5 Will Davison Mercedes E63 AMG +0.5001
+óGé¼-ª
11 Scott McLaughlin Volvo S60 +0.6877
23 David Wall Volvo S60 +1.2587
Championship Standings - Top 5
1 Mark Winterbottom Ford Falcon 787 (-9)
2 Craig Lowndes Holden Commodore 796
3 Fabian Coulthard Holden Commodore 713 (-83)
4 James Courtney Holden Commodore 714 (-82)
5 Jamie Whincup Holden Commodore 723 (-73)
+óGé¼-ª
16 Scott McLaughlin Volvo S60 459 (-478)
23 David Wall Volvo S60 333 (-604)
For further information please contact:
Oliver Peagam
Public Affairs Manager
Volvo Car Australia
T: 02 9020 1613
M: 0408 691 017
E: opeagam@volvocars.com