THE FLYING KIWI

After a heartbreaking championship loss in 2017, Scott McLaughlin bounced back with a run of three championship wins between 2018 and 2020. Of those titles, the 2019 was the most dominant. This is the story of that campaign.

t 26 years of age, Scott McLaughlin hit the peak of his powers in 2019.

The New Zealander seemed destined for Supercars stardom, from making his debut in the Dunlop Super2 Series as a baby-faced 16-year-old in 2010 to winning races in his first full-time season in the Supercars main game in 2013 to finishing in the top 10 of the championship in each of his full-time seasons, having won races across two teams, four different cars and three manufacturers.

The move to DJR Team Penske in 2017 and the partnership with engineer Ludo Lacroix elevated him to the next level, leading to the record-breaking run of 2019 that saw him win a second consecutive championship and the Bathurst 1000 for the first time. This is the story of his season, the key players and the factors in his success.

The Team

McLaughlin’s second title marked the first consecutive championship defeat for Triple Eight Race Engineering since the start of its dominant run in 2008.

The rise of DJR Team Penske is incredible when put in the context of the near demise of Dick Johnson Racing in the 2012-2013 off-season. While many point to the arrival of Team Penske as majority owners in 2014 as the salvation for Dick Johnson’s team, it was in fact the work of Ryan Story which saved the team and had it in a position where it was a worthwhile investment for the likes of Team Penske.

DJR Team Penske had been on the rise ever since, despite scaling back to one car for its first season in 2015 and the initial setback of Marcos Ambrose stepping down after just two rounds.

What followed was a concerted rebuild to inject new life into what had become of Dick Johnson Racing, with steady gains through the second half of 2015 and in 2016, following the expansion back up to two cars.

The game-changing recruitment of engineering and design guru Lacroix from Triple Eight Race Engineering and McLaughlin from Garry Rogers Motorsport into 2017 were the final ingredients needed to become an elite team.

The return of Shell as title sponsor, to a team it had enjoyed so much success with over the decades, added not only commercial stability but helped allay fears the Team Penske takeover would diminish the Dick Johnson Racing legacy.

The Lacroix-McLaughlin combination nearly won a title in its first attempt, losing the championship following a last-lap tangle in the final race of the season in Newcastle in 2017. But the heartbreak galvanised the team, just as it had done for Dick Johnson when he recovered from crashing out of the lead at Bathurst in 1980 with the championship-Bathurst double in 1981.

The 2018 championship win marked not only confirmation of DJR Team Penske’s rise to the top but also a fitting farewell for the Falcon. It was the 17th and final championship win for the Falcon courtesy of the iconic #17 entry.

Team Penske’s connections in North America paved the way for Ford to return to Supercars with the Mustang in 2019.

With DJR Team Penske made the homologation team for the Mustang, it could tap into Lacroix’s design genius and the relationship with Ford Performance to build a rocket-ship.

From near-collapse seven years ago to the powerhouse team in Supercars, DJR Team Penske was reaping the rewards of its rebuild. It was quite a journey for the man who started it all, Dick Johnson.

“We’ve had times when it’s been difficult both mentally and financially, but you’ve just got to work through these things and the right people seem to turn up at the right time,” he said.

“It’s great to be in a position where we’re winning races. After all these ups and downs we’ve had over the years and now to be running at the front is a real bonus. Unless you’ve had the lows, you don’t know what the highs are, do you?”

The Highs

McLaughlin’s dream season began with an event sweep in Adelaide, the perfect debut for the Mustang. With six wins from six race starts, after not starting Race 5 (see ‘The Lows’), the record of most wins in a season appeared in sight.

Winning six in a row across Barbagallo, Winton, Hidden Valley and Townsville not only cemented his championship lead but also put him on the brink of the record previously held by Craig Lowndes with 16 wins in 1996.

McLaughlin broke the record at the Auckland SuperSprint in September, with four events still to spare. Fittingly, he claimed the record on home soil at Pukekohe Park Raceway in New Zealand, the circuit where he scored his first race win in his rookie season in 2013.

“I wanted so badly to do this on New Zealand soil,” he reflected.

“I’m a lucky guy driving a cool car and am just a proud New Zealander trying to do my thing.”

The Bathurst win that followed was significant in itself: the first for McLaughlin and Alexandre Prémat; the first for the Mustang in the history of the event; and the first for Dick Johnson Racing/DJR Team Penske in 25 years.

The championship win that followed at Sandown made him the first driver since Jamie Whincup in 2012 to achieve the Bathurst-championship double.

Remarkably, McLaughlin won a race at each of the first 12 events of the season, with that run coming to an end on the Gold Coast in October.

“We’re in a period of greatness, and I think we should stop and respect just how good this young bloke is,” said former Supercars team owner/driver turned commentator Mark Larkham.

“He’s not just getting the driving bit right, he’s getting the car set-up right, the strategy stuff right, and he’s getting the starts right.

“Well done, Scott McLaughlin, you’re a class act.”

The Records

McLaughlin features prominently in the Australian Touring Car Championship/Supercars record books. Prior to 2019, he already held the record for the youngest winner of a race (at 19 years of age in 2013), youngest polesitter (at 20 years of age in 2014) and most pole positions in a season (16 in 2017). In 2019, he achieved the following records and milestones: Most race wins in a season, breaking the record of 16 held by Lowndes in 1996.

Taking Dick Johnson Racing/DJR Team Penske to the top of the list of most drivers’ championship wins with nine, one ahead of Triple Eight Race Engineering. First driver to win the championship in a Ford Mustang in 50 years, since Ian Geoghegan in 1969.

First driver along with Prémat to win the Bathurst 500/1000 in a Ford Mustang.

First driver to win the Darwin Triple Crown (winning both races and topping the Shootout).

Second longest run of consecutive race wins with seven, one shy of Lowndes with eight in 1996.

The 10th driver to win consecutive championships, along with Geoghegan, Bob Jane, Allan Moffat, Johnson, Jim Richards, Lowndes, Mark Skaife, Marcos Ambrose and Jamie Whincup.

Moving into the top 10 of most race wins in the history of the championship.

Moving into second place on most pole positions in championship history, behind Whincup.

Though some of those records have been matched or beaten since, McLaughlin’s achievements will stand the test of time.

The Lows

After four wins from the opening four races of the 2019 season, McLaughlin’s winning run came to an end following a bizarre collision with Cameron Waters on the out-lap of Race 5 at the Melbourne 400.

With the Mustangs suffering extensive damage, both McLaughlin and Waters were out of the race. The Mustang was repaired in time for Race 6, in which McLaughlin made amends and returned to the top step of the podium.

The first official defeat came in Race 8 at the Tasmania SuperSprint with an understated fourth place, in the same race that Shane van Gisbergen handed the Mustang its first loss. Following the run of nine podiums and seven wins across Phillip Island, Barbagallo, Winton, Hidden Valley and Townsville, an opening-lap clash with David Reynolds in Race 18 in Townsville left McLaughlin with a puncture and 11th place, sparking a war of words between the two drivers.

Throughout McLaughlin’s record-breaking run there was angst from the competition regarding the speed of the Mustang, particularly following Supercars’ ongoing parity adjustments throughout the season.

“Whatever you do, there’s always going to be someone kicking you down… it’s the tall poppy thing,” he said.

“You’ve just got to push on as a team, work hard with what you’ve got. There’s always going to be negative somewhere.

“That’s what builds the passion in the sport. That’s why it’s great that the Holden fans might boo me or boo our team, because that means we’ve got good support from the whole series. And one day, those Holden guys will come back, and it’ll be awesome. Whether you’re getting cheered or booed, it’s a good thing because the sport’s popular.

“Obviously the team is copping a fair spray thinking we have an advantage or whatever. People don’t believe that we can be good as a squad.”

But no one could deny the speed of McLaughlin, irrespective of any potential Mustang advantage. He well and truly outpaced his teammate Fabian Coulthard throughout the season, while also enjoying a