Fabian Coulthard & Tony D'Alberto - No. 12 Shell V-Power Racing Ford
Qualifying – 16th (Fastest Lap: 1m10.9870s)
Top 10 Shootout – N/A
Race 27 – 11th (Fastest Lap: 1m11.4371s)
Scott McLaughlin & Alex Prémat - No. 17 Shell V-Power Racing Ford
Qualifying – 2nd (Fastest Lap: 1m10.3670s)
Top 10 Shootout – DNS
Race 27 – DNS
RECAP: Scott McLaughlin and Alex Premat were forced out of the running at the Gold Coast 600 today when McLaughlin had a 43G crash into a concrete wall during qualifying this morning.
McLaughlin, who was sitting on provisional pole at the time, clipped the inside wall at the exit of the first chicane and fired across the track into the concrete, flipping the No.17 Mustang onto its side.
McLaughlin was able to pull himself from the car with the aid of officials and fellow competitor Shane van Gisbergen who stopped to assist, however he was subsequently admitted to Gold Coast University Hospital for additional tests. Following several tests, he was given the all clear and released.
Fabian Coulthard and Tony D'Alberto started the race from 16th on the grid, and battled an early engine issue that required a long first pit stop, before having to serve a penalty for a pit stop infringement.
This pushed them deep into the pack, a lap down and meant that they both had to push hard to regain lost positions. Ultimately, they managed to get back to 11th at the flag.
McLaughlin's lead in the Championship has been cut by 150 points to 463, with Coulthard sitting fourth 400 points further back. The Team's points lead has also been cut, with it now sitting at 132 points.
COULTHARD QUOTE: "It's just been one of those weekends, to be honest. We've had pace, but no luck. We've been last in the races on both days, and fought back to grab a decent result. Hopefully TD and I can have a good run at Sandown in a couple of weeks."
MCLAUGHLIN QUOTE: "That was the biggest shunt of my career, and its testament to the work put into these cars that I was able to walk away. Thanks to all the marshals and officials that helped me, and to Dr Carl and the Supercars medical team. Thanks to Shane too for stopping and checking on me. Because of the size of the crash, I had to go to hospital and have a few tests, but I've been given the all clear so now I'm looking forward to getting back on track again. I'm really sorry to my team, they're going to have to put in some hard yards over the next week or so to get us ready for Sandown, but they are the best in the business so I'm sure we'll be good as new in two weeks."
D'ALBERTO QUOTE: "We've had plenty of pace this weekend, but unfortunately we've got nothing to show for it. Being back in last place on both days wasn't where we wanted to be, but we came back and managed to get some solid points on both days. Hopefully Sandown is kinder to us!"
PRÉMAT QUOTE: "It was a shame to be spectator today, but the most important thing is that Scott is OK. The car is not good, but the team already have a plan to swap us into a new car for Sandown so we will be able to have a good run there. This is a good team, and we will be back looking to win at Sandown."