7 May 2018

McLaughlin takes famous Supercars win

6:24 am on 7 May 2018

Ford superstar Scott McLaughlin has produced arguably the greatest drive of his Supercars career to snatch a wild second race of the Perth Supersprint.

New Zealand driver Scott McLaughlin

New Zealand driver Scott McLaughlin Photo: © Photosport Ltd 2018 www.photosport.nz

The championship leader created history on Sunday by coming from 19th on the grid to secure a famous victory - his fourth straight in the series.

McLaughlin smashed the record for the lowest grid start (12th) to win at the Western Australian circuit, which was previously shared by Peter Brock (1978) and Larry Perkins (1997).

After converting his poles in the previous three races into comfortable wins, the V-Power ace was forced to it the hard way at Barbagallo Raceway.

McLaughlin admitted he "stuffed up" his qualifying efforts, but believed he could still come from the clouds to pinch his 21st career win.

He benefited from a chaotic opening to the second race of the round where he escaped the carnage that saw Nissan's Michael Caruso forced to the garage.

McLaughlin had made up seven spots after only two laps.

By the time the safety car was called out on lap four in an incident that saw Wilson Security Racing's James Golding spinning towards the sand, McLaughlin had shot up to sixth.

The 24-year-old worked his way through the field after brief leader Will Davison, who was driving in his 400th career race, failed to pit for the safety car.

McLaughlin's fifth win of the season sees him go further ahead in the championship standings after the fifth round of the season.

Erebus Motorsport's David Reynolds redeemed himself from a poor race on Saturday, where he finished 17th, to drive his Commodore to second.

Fellow Holden driver Craig Lowndes incredibly shot up 22 spots after starting at the back of the grid to end up on the podium in an inspired performance.

- AAP