We have a chat with Kiwi V8 Supercar driver Scott McLaughlin — and not a jandal reference in sight!
Not to be confused with the proverbial seven minutes in heaven, we were lucky enough to spend five minutes (actually four minutes and eight seconds, but who's counting?) with Kiwi V8 Supercar driver Scott McLaughlin.
Entering this weekend's ITM 500, the 22-year-old's championship situation has improved. He's vaulted to 11th in the series standings, which is a reasonable effort considering how far behind the eight-ball both he and car number 33 were in the opening rounds of the championship.
Photo / Velocity NZ
The improvement has come largely thanks to a recent turn of speed, with the Volvo looking speedy throughout all three events of the Pirtek Enduro Cup — underlined by the pole position he was able to take at the Gold Coast 600.
We asked McLaughlin about some of his history, whether he'd like to see the ITM 500 move to Hampton Downs, and about his new teammate for the 2016 season.
What is your first memory of Pukekohe Park Raceway?
It would be 2001–’02 when I came out with mum and dad, which is sort of where my love for Murph came from. It's been one of those things where it's just grown over time, and eventually I raced some of my first car races in New Zealand [at Pukekohe].
How did your connection with Ross and Jim Stone from Stone Brothers Racing start?
I actually approached them when I was school around year 10 when I had to do some work experience as part of a programme, about working in their factory and they let me do it. I did some holiday work and stuff — just for free, I never got paid. But it was just a good connection for me with some guys I could keep close and have a good relationship with.
Photo / Velocity NZ
Obviously Pukekohe is a special place for yourself, with all your family and friends around. But as a racing facility, how do you rate it — particularly against a place like Hampton Downs Motorsport Park? And where would you rather see the V8s race?
I'd rather stay at Puke. It's easier for fans, not too much easier, but easier. And it's got a lot of history.
But probably people have to understand that V8 Supercars look at that sort of thing commercially, and they need to do what's right for the sponsors who put a lot of money into it, as well as the fans. So they [V8 Supercars] need to listen to both parties.
Really, I'm a fan of both [Pukekohe at Hampton Downs]. I reckon once Hampton Downs gets built, it'll be pretty cool. That'll just be a matter of time.
Photo / Velocity NZ
At Bathurst, Alex Premat and yourself looked very quick during the opening stints. But the race seemed to just fade away for you guys. What happened?
Yeah we had a few good stints, but our fuel consumption was stuffed. We were using too much fuel and the race kind of went away from us. We were losing a bit [of time] there during our pit stops, and some position. And once you've lost position it's very hard to get it back given how close the field is.
We also set up for the wet a bit more because we thought it would rain a bit harder than it did, and for a bit longer. When it rained we were really fast. Obviously when we were in the dry in the first stint our car was very good because it was set up for a low-grip track. But once the grip started rubbering up, we were slower.
We were close there for a podium, but just couldn't get that mileage.
Photo / Velocity NZ
A lot of people have made a point of your friendship with your new-for-2016 teammate James Moffat. Was that something that started in the Development Series and when you guys drove together in the V8 SuperTourers?
Most of it actually started when I started co-driving with Jack Perkins, as they were quite close. I knew James already from [Development Series], but we got through all that, did SuperTourers, and just got really close together. It's something that's developed over time that I've really enjoyed.
I think him joining [Polestar] will be really good. It's sad for Davy [David Wall], since I get along really well with him.
Your team boss Garry Rogers has had a few words to say about your friendship with James in the media, showing a bit of concern about hiring someone that's already close friends with his lead driver. Can you see where he's coming from?
I can, but at the end of the day it's one of those things where you sort of put it out there as best as you can. And he understands that it doesn't really matter if we're friends or not, it's about how we drive on the track. But if we got somebody else we'd make it harder, so we had to do the right thing for the team.