McLaughlin ready for fight back
Monday 21 May 2012, 3:57PM
By V8 Supertourers New Zealand
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V8 SuperTourer racer Scott McLaughlin is vowing to fight back and turn his speed into race wins after a disappointing start to a V8 SuperTourer season beset with new-car problems for the Supercheap team.
The on-form McLaughlin - who was one of seven V8 SuperTourer drivers who tested at Philip Island last Friday - won in Perth recently in the Dunlop V8 Supercare series and has been very quick in the Supercheap Holden V8ST at the Kiwi tracks on the V8ST calendar.
"It's extremely frustrating really and one of the worst starts to a championship in my whole career," explained the youngster. "We have been really, really quick but have always had problems outside of our control slowing us down.
"The team is doing a great job; myself and Geoff Emery are driving the wheels off the cars. I'm sure some luck will come our way sooner rather than later.
McLaughlin had been flying at Manfeild prior to the extent of the problems that forced the team to withdraw the cars emerging on Friday afternoon.
"Yes, we were going pretty well in the little dry running we had and the car was good on some older set of tyres and even in the wet I think I was one of the quickest cars out there and I wasn't pushing too hard. I really like the wet tyre, it suits me really well."
The Melbourne Performance Centre team which runs the cars has been working flat out to solve the overheating issues with the cars, a problem which has affected several of the SuperTourers in the early stages of the car's development. McLaughlin, however, is hopeful that Round 4 at Hampton Downs on June 1-3 will see the team put the worst of that behind them.
"I’m pretty sure that between our team and V8ST, we have had the right guys working on the right areas and that they have come up with the best solution. I’ve been staying right out of it and just concentrating on the driving part of it, but I know there has been a lot of hard work and thinking going on in the background. For me, I'm just going to pedal as hard as I possibly can and go for wins, pure and simple."