Fabian Coulthard - No. 12 Shell V-Power Racing Ford
Qualifying – 8th (Fastest Lap: 1m20.251s)
Top 10 Shootout - 6th (Fastest Lap: 1m20.132s)
Race 2 - 9th (Fastest Lap: 1m21.282s)
Scott McLaughlin - No. 17 Shell V-Power Racing Ford
Qualifying – 3rd (Fastest Lap: 1m19.964s)
Top 10 Shootout - 2nd (Fastest Lap: 1m19.848s)
Race 2 - 1st (Fastest Lap: 1m21.039s)
RECAP: Scott McLaughlin has claimed the Championship lead for the first time in 2020, after winning the Adelaide 500 today for the second year running.
Race 2 of the Championship was an up and down affair for the Shell V-Power Racing Team, but one where the team ultimately ended up on top.
Scott McLaughlin started on the front row of the grid, taking the lead into Turn 1 over poleman Shane van Gisbergen. He lead until the first pit stops, when Triple Eight short-fuelled Van Gisbergen to jump McLaughlin in pit lane.
McLaughlin remained second right through the second round of pit stops, however an error in refuelling meant that Van Gisbergen had to return to the lane late in the race to take on additional fuel, gifting the lead to Car No. 17 and McLaughlin who went on to take his second Adelaide 500 title.
Coulthard started from sixth on the grid, and had great pace throughout the opening section of the race. He was forced to double stack behind McLaughlin in pit lane at the first pit stop, losing him more than 10 seconds, which dropped him back into the pack.
He worked hard to make his way forward across the remainder of the race, passing several cars and holding position in the battle pack to finish ninth.
At the end of the opening weekend, McLaughlin has claimed the championship lead and associated orange numbers, whilst Coulthard sits ninth. The team leads the Teams' points by 63 points over Triple Eight.
COULTHARD QUOTE: "Got a ripper start, and we were trucking along OK. The car was a little bit nervous, so I was swinging off the [anti-roll] bars to try to find a bit of a balance, then the safety car came out, and I was double stacked. We sat there for 10-seconds or so, which really put an end to any chance of a good result for us. We're all still learning this package, and there are lots of positives to take from this event. We just didn't get the result we would have liked."
MCLAUGHLIN QUOTE: "Full credit to Shane [van Gisbergen] and his team, they really should have won that race. They had the faster car, but I'll take it. We've got to take the luck when we can. I'm just really happy to get one for the Ford fans in what has been a pretty big week for Holden. For a Ford to win is awesome. We'll look at it all back at the shop, but the team always put me on a great strategy, just need to look at yesterday to see that. I was like, ahh damn, we didn't get in front of him [Van Gisbergen], but I had to pull the socks up and have a crack. I'm really proud of everyone. Thanks to all the supporters out there, it's going to be a great year.”