McLaughlin to the fore as rivals falter in Race 2
Scott McLaughlin
Scott McLaughlin has charged from 10th on the grid to take his second Dunlop Series race win of the weekend at the Sucrogen Townsville 400.
The Fujitsu Ford driver carefully picked his way through the reverse top 10 grid order over the course of the race, eventually taking the top spot from pole sitter George Miedecke with three laps remaining.
Miedecke had built a 2.5s lead over his rivals in the early stages, but found himself brought back to the field when the Safety Car was called to retrieve team-mate Rodney Jane’s damaged Ford on the sixth lap.
Miedecke eventually held off Nick Percat to secure second, while Andrew Jones, Ash Walsh, David Russell, Elliot Barbour, Luke Youlden, Geoff Emery and Drew Russell rounded out the top 10.
It was a disastrous race for two of McLaughlin’s title rivals Chaz Mostert and Scott Pye.
Mostert was forced to pit with damage on the opening lap after contact with Tim Blanchard squeezed the Ford Performance Racing driver into the outside wall at the first corner. The duo eventually returned to the circuit to finish 19th and 20th respectively.
Cameron Waters meanwhile was forced to retire from the race having been clipped by the limping Mostert at the exit of Turn 2.
Pye ran third behind Miedecke, Jones and Luke Youlden in the opening stages, but soon found himself with a drive-through penalty for spinning Youlden at Turn 7.
The Triple Eight Holden driver benefited from the Safety Car period to once again contend for a top 10 spot, before ending his race in the wall at the entry to Turn 3 after coming off worst in a scrap with Drew Russell and Daniel Jilesen.
Dale Wood also took a drive-through during the race after the Greg Murphy Racing Holden driver spun Jane into the path of Emery – ending Jane’s race.
Paul Morris meanwhile failed to take the start after suffering a broken rear hub on the way to the grid.
The third and final Dunlop Series race of the weekend will take place at 1355 local time.
See below for the full Race 2 result
| 1 | Fujitsu Racing | Scott McLaughlin | Ford Falcon FG | 14 | 19:39.7547 |
| 2 | Bob Jane T-Marts/Sitech | George Miedecke | Ford Falcon BF | 14 | 19:41.3369 |
| 3 | Coates Hire Racing | Nick Percat | Holden Commodore VE2 | 14 | 19:41.6153 |
| 4 | Kitten Racing | Andrew Jones | Holden Commodore VE | 14 | 19:45.5621 |
| 5 | Simpro Racing | Ashley Walsh | Ford Falcon BF | 14 | 19:45.8700 |
| 6 | Dreamtime Racing | David Russell | Holden Commodore VE | 14 | 19:46.1730 |
| 7 | Minda Motorsport | Elliot Barbour | Holden Commodore VE2 | 14 | 19:48.4748 |
| 8 | Glabal Welding Supplies | Luke Youlden | Ford Falcon BF | 14 | 19:50.6196 |
| 9 | R & J Batteries | Geoff Emery | Holden Commodore VE | 14 | 19:52.0478 |
| 10 | Go Karts Go | Drew Russell | Ford Falcon BF | 14 | 19:54.1113 |
| 11 | Drill Pro | Daniel Jilesen | Ford Falcon BF | 14 | 19:55.3987 |
| 12 | Formula Tech/Interquip Racing | Brett Stewart | Holden Commodore VE | 14 | 19:59.4512 |
| 13 | ABC Towing | Marcus Zukanovic | Holden Commodore VE | 14 | 20:01.0066 |
| 14 | Pacific Hoists | Nandi Kiss | Holden Commodore VE | 14 | 20:06.8363 |
| 15 | Go Karts Go | Aaren Russell | Ford Falcon BF | 14 | 20:07.4894 |
| 16 | Carrington Equipment Group | Michael Hector | Ford Falcon BF | 14 | 20:08.5819 |
| 17 | GB Galvanizing/Wilson Tech | Dale Wood | Holden Commodore VE | 14 | 20:13.1510 |
| 18 | Solo Resource Recovery | Aaron McGill | Ford Falcon BF | 14 | 20:17.9446 |
| 19 | Ford Performance Racing | Chaz Mostert | Ford Falcon FG | 13 | 19:52.3093 |
| 20 | Jaylec Automotive Electrical | Tim Blanchard | Ford Falcon FG | 13 | 19:56.2033 |
| DNF | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Scott Pye | Holden Commodore VE | 13 | 18:35.9524 |
| DNF | Bob Jane T-Marts | Rodney Jane | Ford Falcon FG | 5 | 6:36.9692 |
| DNF | Dreamtime Racing | Cameron Waters | Holden Commodore VE | ||
| DNF | Berocca Performance | Paul Morris | Holden Commodore VE |
