Watch Scott McLaughlin Stomp the Mount Panorama V8 Supercar Lap Record
There has probably never been a finer lap of the legendary Australian track.

Last weekend, the 2017 Bathurst 1000 was held at its traditional gauntlet in Bathurst, New South Wales, on the Mount Panorama Circuit. Narrow, fast, and with more elevation change than some entire countries, Mount Panorama is among the trickiest of tracks in the world to get just right, as the faster you go, the closer you find yourself to the looming concrete walls, especially at the top of the mountain. The prestige of mastering the mountain is enough to give every driver who races on it the courage to grab their car by the scruff of the neck in the hopes of landing themselves on pole.
In the race's qualifying shootout, a high-stakes one lap affair in which the race's top ten qualifiers compete to secure the highest grid position possible, Scott McLaughlin of DJR Team Penske, driving his Ford FG X Falcon, took pole position with a lap that mirrors the infamous "Lap of the Gods" set by Greg Murphy in 2003.
McLaughlin's lap, a 2:03.831, beats the previous V8 Supercars record, a 2:06.371, set by David Reynolds in 2014, by more than 2.5 seconds. It does not beat the track's outright race lap record, a 2:01.567, set by Shane van Gisbergen during 2016's running of the 12 Hours of Bathurst in a McLaren 650S GT3. A faster lap still was set by Jenson Button in 2011 during a promotional stunt for the Australian Grand Prix, where he drove a McLaren MP4-23 to a time of 1:48.88, though it is not considered the lap record, having not occurred as part of a race weekend.
The fact that McLaughlin was able to get within the same qualifying time neighborhood as the GT3 cars from the year the record was set speaks for itself, as his time would have been adequate to place him ahead of an Erebus Motorsport Mercedes SLS AMG GT3, had they competed together. It just goes to show that in V8 Supercars, what you drive doesn't matter: it's still about how you drive it.
MORE TO READ

Related
Talking With Hankook Racing’s Jeff Jones on the Eve of Formula Drift’s Last Ride at Irwindale
The iconic track is set to close next year, and SoCal native Jeff Jones is ready for the smoke-filled finale.

Related
Pure Aesthetics: A Look at Night Racing at 2017 Petit Le Mans
The final hours of the IMSA season finale are undoubtedly the best—and the prettiest.

Related
Motorsports Photography: The Art Of Racing – IMSA Night Racing At Motul Petit Le Mans
Night racing is a rare treat. It’s taxing on drivers and photographers alike. But when it comes together, it makes for striking photography.

Related
Red Bull Racing Shoots For 2020 Contract Extensions with Ricciardo, Verstappen
With both young guns improving, are they likely to stay put?

Related