All The Pace, But No Prize

March 4, 2018

ADELAIDE 500 – SUNDAY, MARCH 4 – QUALIFYING, TOP 10 SHOOTOUT & RACE

Fabian Coulthard - No. 12 Shell V-Power Racing Ford

Qualifying – 12th (Fastest Lap: 1m20.1217s)
Top 10 Shootout – N/A
Race 2 – 16th (Fastest Lap: 1m21.5175s)

Scott McLaughlin - No. 17 Shell V-Power Racing Ford

Qualifying – 1st (Fastest Lap: 1m19.6900s)
Top 10 Shootout – 3rd (Fastest Lap: 1m19.7598s)
Race 1 – 10th (Fastest Lap: 1m21.0627s)

Fabian Coulthard - No. 12 Shell V-Power Racing Ford

Recap: Coulthard had another tough day, qualifying 12th before settling into the race. He got himself up to 9th before his first stop, however the car balance was not what he required, and he started to slide back through the field. Without the speed to attack his rivals, he finished the race in 16th place. He sits 20th in the points standings, with the second round of the Championship at the Australian Grand Prix in three weeks' time.

Coulthard Quote: "Unfortunately there's not too many positives to come out of this weekend. We just never quite got on top of the car's set-up, and had some bad luck too, which means you qualify down the order. That throws you into the pack, and it's tough to come back from that in this competitive field. I'm looking forward to the AGP though, we went really well there last year, and with it being for points in 2018 I can't wait to head to Melbourne in a few weeks."
 
Scott McLaughlin - No. 17 Shell V-Power Racing Ford
 
Recap: After working on the car overnight to improve pace, Scott McLaughlin hit the track in his No.17 Shell V-Power Ford taking a solid 3rd place in the Top 10 Shootout this morning, before a strong start to get himself up to second across the opening stint of the race. He was third when a tyre deflated through Adelaide's super-fast turn eight, forcing him to limp back to the pits. He rejoined down the order in 22nd, and then mounted a stellar recovery drive to finish 10th after the additional pitstop. He is now 5th in the points standings after the opening event of the season.
 
McLaughlin Quote: "We're gutted. I think it was going to be a really great race being SVG and I, and we missed out on that which was disappointing. From where we started on Friday, the team did an incredible job to give me the car I had today. It was an absolute jet. Such a shame for it to be taken away thanks to a tyre, but that's motorsport. We had some fun coming through the pack at the end there, too."