Photo: DJR Team Penske

Scott McLaughlin claims his sixth win of 2017 to extend points lead at Queensland

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DJR Team Penske driver Scott McLaughlin claimed his sixth win of the 2017 Supercars Championship in the first race of the Queensland Raceway weekend, finishing ahead of rival Ford driver Chaz Mostert.

McLaughlin started from pole but was beaten off the line by Triple Eight Race Engineering driver Craig Lowndes in the Holden Commodore. The duo fought throughout the race, with McLaughlin passing Lowndes twice for the lead.

Lowndes later dropped down to finish fifth behind team-mate Shane van Gisbergen in third and fellow Holden driver Tim Slade in fourth.

Former championship leader Fabian Coulthard crossed the line in sixth position ahead of Nick Percat and the top Nissan driver Rick Kelly, rounding off the top eight.

Triple Eight Race Engineering driver Jamie Whincup had a tough day, having been given a five-place penalty after making contact with the GRM Holden of James Moffat during qualifying to start 14th. Whincup made progress during the race only to drop down after an issue with one of the air jacks during a pit stop to finish 20th.

McLaughlin leads the championship on 1758 points, a full 111 points ahead of Whincup in second, and 206 points over team-mate Coulthard in third.

Racing resumes tomorrow with a second qualifying session and race.