Supercars: Scott McLaughlin dedicates Albert Park victory to Christchurch following massacre

James Pavey

Supercars: Scott McLaughlin dedicates Albert Park victory to Christchurch following massacre image

Scott McLaughlin has carried on his running tribute to his hurting nation, with the Christchurch native winning the first two races of the weekend in Melbourne.

49 lives were lost in a mass shooting at mosques in Christchurch on Friday, with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern marking it as "one of New Zealand’s darkest days".

In the wake of the devastation, sporting codes have taken action - notably, a Test match in the city between New Zealand and Bangladesh has been cancelled,  as has a Super Rugby match in Dunedin.

An emotional McLaughlin dedicated his Friday victory in the opening leg of the Melbourne 400 to his home town, before backing it up in the Saturday morning sprint race - which was also the 1000th ATCC/VASC race.

SUPERCARS:  Everything you need to know about the 2019 Supercars Championship

The 25-year-old was clearly emotional as the New Zealand national anthem played out after both wins in Melbourne.

"Me and [teammate Fabian Coulthard] are Kiwis, I'm from Christchurch originally," McLaughlin said after Friday's race.

"I found out about the whole thing after quali, it was a bit of a shock to the system.

"Even hearing the New Zealand anthem tonight was pretty special and gave me goosebumps.

"I send big love to them over there. It's a small town, it's hard to believe something so bad could happen there, but they'll work through it."


In response to the tragedy, the Supercars family will carry messages of support to Christchurch for the rest of the weekend in Melbourne.

Scott McLaughlin

2018 series champion McLaughlin is one of five Kiwis in the field - along with Coulthard, Shane van Gisbergen, Andre Heimgartner and Richie Stanaway - and silver fern stickers were applied to cars and helmets up and down pit lane.


McLaughlin's and Coulthard's Shell V-Power Racing Ford Mustangs are carrying black mirrors with the silver fern on them, just one of many simple - yet emotional - tributes to the fallen.

Supercars CEO Sean Seamer is also a New Zealand native, and hoped the racing could help provide some "respite" and a "distraction" to his countrypeople involved in the sport.

"To our friends, family and fans in Christchurch and New Zealand, the Supercars family is deeply saddened by yesterday’s horrific events in Christchurch,” Seamer said.

"Many New Zealanders take part in and contribute to our sport, and in many ways it feels inappropriate to be here in Melbourne doing something we enjoy while there is so much pain in Christchurch.

"We can only hope, humbly, the Supercars activity this weekend can provide some brief respite and a distraction from what is otherwise a very sombre time for our New Zealand brethren.

"Our heartfelt condolences are with all of those affected."

SUPERCARS: MELBOURNE 400

RACE 3 RESULTS

Position Driver Car Margin
1st Scott McLaughlin Ford  
2nd Fabian Coulthard Ford +0.687
3rd Cameron Waters Ford +4.612
4th Will Davison Ford +9.917
5th Chaz Mostert Ford +11.558
6th Tim Slade Holden +15.820
7th James Courtney Holden +21.760
8th Jamie Whincup Holden +22.021
9th Lee Holdsworth Ford +22.450
10th David Reynolds Holden +23.188
11th Anton De Pasquale Holden +23.796
12th Mark Winterbottom Holden +27.770
13th Scott Pye Holden +29.407
14th Nick Percat Holden +37.003
15th Andre Heimgartner Nissan +37.759
16th James Golding Holden +38.020
17th Richie Stanaway Holden +38.964
18th Simona De Silvestro Nissan +40.628
19th Macauley Jones Holden +40.886
20th Jack Le Brocq Holden +56.277
21st Garry Jacobson Nissan +56.797
22nd Rick Kelly Nissan +1:10.378
23rd Todd Hazelwood Holden +2 LAPS
DNF Shane van Gisbergen Holden  

SUPERCARS: MELBOURNE 400

RACE 4 RESULTS

Position Driver Car Margin
1st Scott McLaughlin Ford  
2nd Chaz Mostert Ford +2.522
3rd Cameron Waters Ford +6.410
4th Jamie Whincup Holden +7.312
5th Fabian Coulthard Ford +10.821
6th Will Davison Ford +11.390
7th David Reynolds Holden +13.168
8th Tim Slade Holden +13.869
9th James Courtney Holden +17.210
10th Shane van Gisbergen Holden +17.406
11th Mark Winterbottom Holden +18.585
12th Lee Holdsworth Ford +21.558
13th Anton De Pasquale Holden +23.542
14th Scott Pye Holden +24.097
15th Nick Percat Holden +24.719
16th Rick Kelly Nissan +25.676
17th Todd Hazelwood Holden +28.846
18th Andre Heimgartner Nissan +29.711
19th Richie Stanaway Holden +35.239
20th Simona De Silvestro Nissan +35.677
21st James Golding Holden +36.608
22nd Jack Le Brocq Holden +37.513
23rd Macauley Jones Holden +41.045
24th Garry Jacobson Nissan +43.107

SUPERCARS: CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

AFTER RACE 4

Position Driver Car Points/Margin
1st Scott McLaughlin Ford 450
2nd Jamie Whincup Holden -116
3rd Will Davison Ford -126
4th Cameron Waters Ford -144
5th Chaz Mostert Ford -159

James Pavey

James Pavey Photo