Penske driver McLaughlin breaks Bathurst record again, Whincup crashes

Scott McLaughlin in the Penske Ford Mustang

Scott McLaughlin made it two record-breaking Bathurst laps in two days, while Jamie Whincup crashed out of an eventful practice session this morning at the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.

In an eventful practice session ahead of this afternoon's ARMOR ALL Qualifying, Richie Stanaway crashed near the top of the mountain before Whincup’s car became collateral damage.

The next car in the queue, Mark Winterbottom, narrowly avoided becoming part of the carnage.

Before the drama, McLaughlin narrowly missed besting his 2:03.7728 from Thursday afternoon at the midway point of Practice 5.

He then did raise the bar 10 minutes later with a remarkable 2:03.4813 to set a new benchmark for the fastest Supercars lap around Bathurst.

David Reynolds had been on track for a lap to challenge the #17 Shell V-Power Racing Mustang, 0.09s shy at the second sector, until the session was stopped.

Andre Heimgartner the only driver other than McLaughlin to post a sub-2:04 time.

Cameron Waters, Reynolds and Fabian Coulthard completed the top five as the session ended early when IndyCar wildcard Alexander Rossi found a sand trap with four minutes remaining. One thing is for certain, the backmarker IndyCar drivers are going to go home to the USA with their tails between their legs and looking quite inferior in every aspect.

Qualifying which will determine just who reaches tomorrow's famed Top Ten Shootout will begin at 4:00pm local time.

Practice 5 Results