Supercars: 2019 Season Review – McLaughlin’s Record Run

2019’s Supercars Championship was special – despite there being a clear champion from the offset in Scott McLaughlin, the entertainment never once dwindled.

Drama, broken records and captivating racing were in abundance. Furthermore, with the Ford Mustang GT replacing the beloved AU Falcon, fans and teams alike watched the newcomer eagerly.

Such was the success and speed of the Mustang, the underlying tensions between Red Bull Holden and Shell V-Power racing teams was at boiling point constantly in 2019, and made for great viewing towards the back-end of the season.

Season summary

The opening rounds at Adelaide and Melbourne vividly portrayed the dramatic pace of the brand new GTs – in the first six races, the pole positions, fastest laps and race winners all belonged to Ford drivers – only six of the 25 cars on the grid in 2019 were Mustangs. McLaughlin was the one who took the first four races, and set the story for the rest of the year.

In Tasmania, Shane van Gisbergen registered his, and Holden’s, first victory of the year, but shared spoils with McLaughlin, who won the first race of the event. Van Gisbergen’s victory in Race 8 would in fact turn out to be Holden’s only victory until Race 18, and the Kiwi would claim that one too.

Phillip Island and Perth were dominated evenly by Shell V-Power, as both McLaughlin and teammate Fabian Coulthard gained race wins. In fact, McLaughlin’s Race 12 triumphs at Perth initiated an unprecedented six straight victories that spanned across Winton, Darwin and Townsville.

Leading up to Round 8, the Mustang had been receiving multiple boost reductions, but much to the dismay of Holden supporters, nothing seemed to change. The new Ford had far superior aerodynamics compared to the Commodore, even with the adjusted roof-height that was specifically introduced for their debut season.

Too little, too late from rivals

Just before Townsville, the Holdens were granted power boosts, and for the first time in 2019, Red Bull, and other Holden-based teams, produced some compelling results. In Race 19 at Ipswich, seven-time champion Jamie Whincup registered his first win, devastatingly late in the year for someone of his quality.

However, celebrations were short-lived, as McLaughlin took the final race at Ipswich, and won both at The Bend. At this point in the season, the Kiwi was over 1,000 points ahead of the nearest competitor, and had won 16 out of the 22 races. The final round before the Enduros was located in Auckland, and there were wins for both van Gisbergen and McLaughlin, and in doing so, breaking Craig Lowndes’ 1996 record of championship wins, as Scott notched his 17th.

For the first time in 2019, the Enduros started with the Bathurst 1000, and duly received a mixed reception from the fans. However, the main controversy of the season was exacted in The Great Race, as Coulthard’s ‘go-slow’ manoeuvre allowed McLaughlin to pit without losing track position, and ultimately claim his maiden Mount Panorama title.

In the days that followed, various teams in the paddock argued that there should be some punishment dealt for the cheeky strategy. Ultimately, McLaughlin escaped with his Bathurst victory still intact, but DJR Team Penske was hit with a crippling $250,000 fine that amazed the motorsport community across the world.

Such a monumental penalty obviously deflated some of the team’s morale, as the remaining endurances at the Gold Coast and Sandown were wrapped up by Red Bull Holdens, allowing for van Gisbergen to close the gap slightly on the fellow New Zealander, as well as tightening the Teams’ Championship drastically.

Sportsmanship still strong in Supercars

One of the highlights of the season came at the Gold Coast’s qualifying session, as McLaughlin clipped an inside wall and launched into another concrete fence hard enough to flip the car on its side. Van Gisbergen slowly edged to the crash, and jumped out of the car to help the stricken McLaughlin, a scene of sportsmanship which pleased both Holden and Ford fans greatly.

Sadly, the Mustang which had won so many races throughout the year was destroyed, and put McLaughlin out of action all weekend. Thankfully, Scott escaped without major injuries, and returned for Sandown in a brand new GT Ford.

The veteran duo of Whincup and Craig Lowndes ultimately won the Enduro Cup, and strengthened Holden Red Bull’s campaign for the Teams’ Championship. However, McLaughlin enjoyed the certainty of a successive title in Supercars, as his lead was now mathematically out of reach for van Gisbergen.

The final round at Newcastle saw van Gisbergen comfortably lead from lights to flag in the first race, with teammate Whincup taking out Race 32 ahead of Champion McLaughlin. Thanks to a solid final round, Shell V-Power Racing Team won the Teams’ Championship by over 100pts to Red Bull Holden.

Championship standings

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Hope for the Future

In my opinion, I believe 2020’s season will be much closer than 2019’s, although it would be virtually impossible for a driver to replicate a domination quite like Scott McLaughlin’s. The Holdens also proved towards the back-end of the year that they’ve finally found some solid pace, and presents a much more even grid that that of the start of the year.

However, some work still needs to be done by the officials during the off-season – only one race was won by a driver outside of Shell V-Power and Red Bull Holden (Chaz Mostert; Supercheap Auto Racing Team). This kind of disparity between the leading pack and the rest of the field is rarely seen in modern motorsport, and although 2019 was still greatly entertaining to watch as a fan, there is only so much of this predictable racing one can take.

I am unsure as to what will be done about this, but various touring car categories across the globe implement their own regulations to allow for closer racing, such as ballast and tyre choices. Much discussion will have to take place, as the Supercars’ fanbase is one of the strongest and most dedicated cohorts around, and so anything that compromises their great sport too dramatically would be disastrous.

2020 may also see the return of an exclusive field comprised of Holdens and Fords, as many teams are changing from their Nissan Altimas to other manufacturers. Since their introduction in 2013, the Nissans have played more of a cameo role if anything, and I for one won’t be too upset if they are not to return on next year’s grid.

With more teams moving to Fords, hopefully the split of results will look a fair bit more mixed. This year’s yield of only six Mustangs was very low in 25-car grid mostly filled with Commodores, and yet all six have finished in the top 10 of the Drivers’ Championship standings – more Holdens should be occupying that top 10 with so many on the grid.

I was particularly surprised by the brutal pace that the Mustangs entered the championship with. I was expecting their aero-advantages to give them some speed after a few rounds once the engineers had tweaked and fiddled with the drivetrain, but they were ridiculously quick from day one. It is not often that you see a pilot season go quite so seamlessly in such an established series.

After McLaughlin retained his title at Sandown, there were rumours floating around the community that he was off to NASCAR, much like Marcos Ambrose some 15 years ago. McLaughlin has made no secret of his admiration for the American series, but it is uncertain whether he is to leave such a competitive car so soon with future championship titles surely within his grasp.

The final round at Newcastle saw the end of Simona De Silvestro’s campaign in Supercars – the first ever full-time female-driver in the category. She is now off to help test Porsches for their Formula E ambitions. Richie Stanaway, 28, also announced his shocking retirement from motorsport, as a torrid 2019 for GRM drew to a close. Chaz Mostert was jokingly transported to Walkinshaw Andretti’s garage amidst a defection from Ford to Holden in 2020.

Hopefully 2020’s Supercars season will be as enthralling to watch as 2019’s.