Photo: DJR Team Penske

Scott McLaughlin scores first win for DJR Team Penske

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Scott McLaughlin scored his first Supercars victory for DJR Team Penske in the first race of the non-championship weekend in Melbourne.

The Kiwi won the race ahead of team-mate Fabian Coulthard, with the 1-2 being the first for the team since Penske took over.

Coulthard claimed the lead at the start of the race but ran wide on the first lap, allowing Triple Eight Race Engineering driver Jamie Whincup and team-mate McLaughlin past.

McLaughlin then managed to fight his way past Whincup a lap later, also allowing Coulthard as well as Prodrive Racing Australia driver Chaz Mostert past.

Mostert crossed the line in third, with Whincup in fourth position.

The race ended under safety car conditions following a huge smash between BJR’s Nick Percat and CS Racing’s Lee Holdsworth. Percat lost the brakes coming into the first corner on lap ten, crashing into Holdsworth, leaving the both with seriously damaged cars but fortunately no injuries to either driver.

Championship leader Shane van Gisbergen finished the race in sixth position behind the top Nissan Motorsport driver, Michael Caruso.