Can anyone tame the Mustang?
It went almost 50 years without a win in touring cars and was last sighted in the category in 1990.
But the Ford Mustang now appears unstoppable in Supercars thanks to Scott McLaughlin.
The defending series champion made a clean sweep of the opening round in Adelaide after clinching a race-two victory on Sunday.
He finished more than two seconds ahead of fellow Ford driver Cameron Waters with Holden star Shane van Gisbergen sniffing behind in third on the tough street circuit.
Still buzzing from Saturday’s season-opening victory, McLaughlin continued his dominance to provide a dream return for Ford’s Mustang – and plenty of headaches for rivals.
The Mustang had last featured in a touring car event 28 years ago.
And its last victory before the 2019 Supercars opener was Allan Moffat’s 1972 Oran Park triumph.
But McLaughlin made up for lost time.
He leads the series before the second round at the Australian Grand Prix with a perfect 300 points ahead of van Gisbergen (258) and his Holden teammate Jamie Whincup (234).
Seven-time series champion Whincup finished seventh on Sunday after his runner-up finish on Saturday.
« The car was unbelievable. We came in hoping for two top fives and came away with a 300-point weekend, just blows me away – I can’t wait to party tonight, » McLaughlin said.
He celebrated his 200th career race with his 27th overall victory.
It was a remarkable turnaround after he lasted just seven laps in Thursday’s practice due to power steering dramas.
Sunday’s start was delayed more than 20 minutes due to repair work on the turn-one tyre barrier, reducing the event from 78 to 71 laps.
But nothing could stop McLaughlin.
He only lost the lead when he dropped back to third after chaos ensued following the race’s sole safety car when Holden’s Jack Le Brocq stopped on turn 11 on lap 27.
Most of the field hit the garage during the stoppage but there was pit lane drama after Ford’s Chaz Mostert pulled out in front of Nissan’s Rick Kelly and was t-boned, blocking the exit.
Mostert – who hovered in the top five after setting a new lap record of 1min, 20.37sec – copped a penalty for unsafe release and finished 15th.
McLaughlin eventually reeled in the lead but there was only frustration for his teammate Fabian Coulthard, who finished 20th in the 24-strong field.
Coulthard was third fastest in qualifying but was relegated to 10th on the grid after stewards pinged his team for tinkering with the car before the top 10 shootout.
http://www.espn.com/v8-supercars/story/_/id/26124075/mclaughlin-mustang-sweep-supercars-opener
