Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin is adamant he still has the hunger to secure a rare three-peat of titles in 2020.
The Ford star’s off-season has included getting married in the United States before impressing in a series of opportunities to get behind the wheel of an IndyCar with Team Penske.
Last week McLaughlin was third-fastest during a practice stint at the Circuit of the Americas and had his first taste of an American-style oval track in a private rookie test at Texas Motor Speedway.
The 26-year-old completed 150 laps on the 2.4km speedway, getting up to speeds near 354km/h.
Despite the excitement surrounding his IndyCar ambitions, McLaughlin will return to business in Australia this week with the Supercars’ season-opening Adelaide 500.
The DJR Team Penske driver will get back into his Mustang at a pre-season test day on Tuesday at the Bend Motorsport Park in South Australia.
If he can go on to defend his Supercars title in 2020, McLaughlin will be just the fourth driver to claim at three championships in a row.
Ian Geoghegan (1966-69), Mark Skaife (2000-02) and Jamie Whincup (2011-2014) are the only drivers to have achieved the feat.
« You want to go out there and do things people haven’t done before. I just want to win, » McLaughlin told RSN927’s Breakfast Club.
« I know it’s pretty cliche but that feeling of winning championships never gets old and we had a great year last year.
« No reason why we can’t do a similar year this year.
« We’ve got all the same equipment and same people and that’s one thing you need in motorsport is continuity and we’ve certainly got that in our team.
« I’m really excited to see how we go. »
McLaughlin will return to the US in May to make his IndyCars debut in the Indianapolis Grand Prix.
His off-season schedule in the US has only heightened speculation 2020 will be his final season in Supercars but the man himself remains adamant nothing has been confirmed about his future.
« Obviously my intentions have always been to potentially be in America one day – whether that happens next year, whether that happens in five years’ time, I’ll jump at the opportunity when it comes at me, » he said.
« At this point in time I’m a Supercars driver with a couple of races in America but who knows what the future looks like? »
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