MOTORSPORT: Third successive top 10 for McLaughlin

Scott McLaughlin proved he is more than just another raw IndyCar rookie with a polished performance that took him to eighth place in his first road-course race of season 2021.

He reached the Fast Six qualifying shootout for the first time, made no mistakes as he battled in the top 10 all day, and cemented his eighth place in the championship standings.

McLaughlin has now run through all the IndyCar disciplines through his first four rookie starts – street course, road course and oval – as he looks ahead to The Big One at the end of the month.

“Building nicely before the Indy 500,” McLaughlin said after his safe-solid-sensible effort in the GMR Grand Prix.

“That’s all she wrote for us today. P8 and our third top-10 in a row.”

McLaughlin gave more detail after his classy qualifying effort for fifth on the grid.

“We were methodical all day. We just slowly chipped away at it and we turned up with a really good car for qualifying,” he says.

“I’m learning the car every time. I didn’t quite get the lap in the Fast Six, but it takes a bit of time to bring the adrenaline down. That’s what I found just then.

“You get so excited, you’re in the Fast Six, and then you’ve got to settle yourself down and get your mind back on the job.”

McLaughlin couldn’t match fellow rookie Romain Grosjean, as the F1 refugee took pole position and finished second, but he compared well to the other drivers in Team Penske as he beat 11th-placed Will Power and followed Josef Newgarden in fourth and Simon Pagenaud in sixth.

The race on the Indianapolis infield was won by Dutchman Rinus Veekay, the third first-time winner of 2021 after Pato O’Ward and Alex Palou.

Now the focus switches to the giant Indy oval, as practice begins tomorrow (May 18) for the Indianapolis 500 and the return of spectators – at 25 per cent capacity – at the world’s biggest one-day sporting event.

Meantime at Le Mans, two-wheeled Townsville ace Jack ‘Thriller’ Miller scored a brilliant MotoGP victory last night on his bogey track, Le Mans in France, as Remy Gardner finished second in Moto2 to extend his lead in the second-tier two-wheeled championship.

Miller nearly died in 2017 in a giant crash at Le Mans but only made one mistake  – speeding in the pitlane, costing him two long-lap penalties – in a race that started on a wet track, was lashed by heavy rain, then finished on a dry track.

He hit the lead early on his factory Ducati and stayed upright as many of his rivals fell – MotoGP legend Marc Marquez doing it twice – to score his second straight MotoGP win.

Miller is now a clear championship contender and could not disguise his delight after beating Johann Zarco and Fabio Quartararo to the flag.

“Absolutely amazing. I can’t believe it. Back-to-back wins is just fantastic,” says Miller.

“The first couple of laps were dodgy on the wet tyres, but I got going. I felt comfortable. To be honest, I was just riding to the conditions.”