- Ford Performance Mustang Supercar wins Race 7 of the 2019 Virgin Australian Supercars Championship with Shell V-Power Racing’s Scott McLaughlin leading Fabian Coulthard in a Shell V-Power Racing Mustang one-two finish
- Shell V-Power Racing’s Scott McLaughlin extends his lead in the series after three rounds in the #17 Ford Performance Mustang ahead of team-mate Fabian Coulthard, who jumped from sixth to second in the standings after two second-place results
- Shell V-Power Racing more than doubled its lead of the Teams’ Championship table, with a 232-point lead after the Tyrepower Tasmania SuperSprint, with Tickford Racing Australia’s Supercheap Auto Racing in fourth place.
Held at the historic Symmons Plains Raceway in Tasmania, a closely-fought battle across the two-race weekend saw Scott McLaughlin from Shell V-power Racing add to Mustang’s win tally, and significant points accrued to towards both drivers and teams’ championships across the Ford teams.
“We’re proud of all the Mustang teams and drivers, who saw mixed results across the weekend,” said Kay Hart, President and CEO of Ford Australia and New Zealand. “We head to Phillip Island with Shell V-Power Racing leading the team’s championship, and Scott having extended his lead in the driver’s title.”
McLaughlin led team-mate Fabian Coulthard across the line for a stunning one-two finish in Saturday’s race, thanks to mistake-free performance from both drivers, flawless race strategy and slick pit-stops from the Shell V-Power Racing Team. Both drivers followed up their Saturday performance with solid results in the 84-lap Sunday race, which saw Coulthard repeat his second-place as the leading Mustang across the line, with McLaughlin collecting strong points in fourth place.
The result sees McLaughlin lead the Drivers’ Championship on 770 points, with Coulthard jumping from sixth in the series to sit in second place with 646 points.
“Symmons Plains isn’t a track that necessarily suits the characteristics of the Mustang,” said Shell V-Power Racing Team co-owner and Team Principal, Dr Ryan Story. “We saw last year the ZB dominate here, which meant that our 2019 expectations were not quite as lofty as they have been at some of the tracks that we’ve visited this year. So to come away with a first and second, as a result of some good luck and some good speed, and to add to our championship lead, is far better than was anticipated.”
Shell V-Power Racing extended its 106-point Teams Championship lead into a 232-point advantage following its solid Tasmania results.
On the back of a strong start to the season, Tickford Racing Australia showed flashes of speed throughout the weekend, but didn’t convert the promising pace into the results it had hoped for. The highlight was Lee Holdsworth’s strong performance from 14th on the grid to ninth place in Sunday’s race, the highest finishing place for the team across the weekend.
“Heading into this year we expected Tasmania to be a challenge, which it was,” said Tickford Racing Australia’s Tim Edwards. “We are disappointed in the results, but to be disappointed with Top Tens shows how committed Tickford Racing and Ford are to achieving success. We’re right back into it next weekend at Phillip Island, and our sights remain firmly set on fighting for podiums and wins.”
Round 4 of the 2019 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship will be held between 12 - 14 April with the WD-40 Phillip Island SuperSprint in Victoria. Tickets can be purchased via supercars.com.au
