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Melbourne pre-race collision ends McLaughlin's Supercars domination

Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin's dominant start to 2019 ended in a bizarre pre-race crash with Cam Waters before Saturday's third race on the Australian Grand Prix Formula 1 support bill

McLaughlin was smashed in the right-rear on his way to the grid by fellow Ford Mustang driver Waters, who thought the polesitter had seen he was trying to get past.

Neither DJR Team Penske driver McLaughlin, who earlier in the day had claimed a fourth-straight win at the start of the 2019 Supercars season, or Waters were able to make the start - with Waters's front-left damaged and McLaughlin effectively missing his rear-right wheel.

Explaining the crash to broadcaster Fox Sports, Waters said: "I was kind of following Chaz [Mostert] to get the front so the boys had time to bleed tyres.

"I was passing a few guys and out of [Turn 5] I stayed hard right to try and pass Scotty.

"I thought he'd seen me and he went hard left. I went to go [past], and he went hard right. I clipped his rear wheel.

"It was just shit.

"To be completely honest I was hard right, I was on the edge of the track. When you think a car has seen you and going straight, you don't know where else to go.

"So I'm not taking full responsibility for that. But it shouldn't happen."

McLaughlin said he was "expecting an apology" from Waters.

"I was just driving around the the grid, warming up my tyres like I have been all weekend," he said.

"Those guys come out blazing all the time. I understand they need to get to the grid, but I had no idea he was there. I was doing my normal thing and all of a sudden, 'whack'.

"I certainly don't think [the blame] is on myself. I'm the car in front. He's got vision of me.

"I've got mirrors, but I was doing exactly what I was doing at the other corners. I was doing my procedure. I understand that he was doing his as well... but I'd slowed down a fair bit before I got hit, and then it all happened."

With both front-row starters out before the start, Chaz Mostert overcame the Holdens of Jamie Whincup and Tim Slade to win the race.

The Brad Jones Racing Holdens of Slade and Nick Percat were afforded a clean run to Turn 1 from the second row, but had been split by the time they reached the first corner by Triple Eight driver Whincup, who took the lead from Slade later in the lap.

Mostert set about catching Slade, who had pushed Percat off the road and back to seventh in the process of losing the lead, in the opening stint before pitting on lap 10 of the 25-lap race.

The Tickford driver's attempted undercut went to plan as Mostert cleared Slade and closed in on Whincup, who had stopped a lap later, then slid past the Red Bull Holden on lap 14.

Slade, who rejoined in third after pitting on lap 13, was brought back into play by the intervention of the safety car on lap 20 to allow a wheel from Shane van Gisbergen's Holden to be retrieved.

But a sluggish restart from Whincup on lap 22 allowed Mostert to break away from the pair, before sealing victory by 1.2112 seconds.

Had he been able to start that race, McLaughlin would have been gunning for a fifth victory from as many races after cruising to another win in Saturday morning's second encounter - the 1000th race in the series' history.

McLaughlin had started that race from pole too, and won by 2.5s after easing away from fellow Mustang drivers Mostert - who dropped to fourth at the start - and Waters.

Race two result

Pos Driver Team Car Laps Gap
1 Scott McLaughlin DJR Penske Ford 13 25m39.4415s
2 Chaz Mostert Tickford Ford 13 2.5219s
3 Cameron Waters Tickford Ford 13 6.4096s
4 Jamie Whincup Triple Eight Holden 13 7.3124s
5 Fabian Coulthard DJR Penske Ford 13 10.8209s
6 Will Davison 23Red Racing Ford 13 11.3897s
7 David Reynolds Erebus Holden 13 13.1682s
8 Tim Slade Brad Jones Holden 13 13.8689s
9 James Courtney Walkinshaw Holden 13 17.2096s
10 Shane van Gisbergen Triple Eight Holden 13 17.4055s
11 Mark Winterbottom Schwerkolt Holden 13 18.5849s
12 Lee Holdsworth Tickford Ford 13 21.5580s
13 Anton De Pasquale Erebus Holden 13 23.5424s
14 Scott Pye Walkinshaw Holden 13 24.0966s
15 Nick Percat Brad Jones Holden 13 24.7191s
16 Rick Kelly Kelly Nissan 13 25.6755s
17 Todd Hazelwood Matt Stone Holden 13 28.8461s
18 Andre Heimgartner Kelly Nissan 13 29.7107s
19 Simona de Silvestro Kelly Nissan 13 35.6766s
20 Jack Le Brocq Tekno Holden 13 37.5125s
21 Richie Stanaway GRM Holden 13 40.2392s
22 Macauley Jones Blanchard/BJR Holden 13 41.0450s
23 James Golding GRM Holden 13 41.6083s
24 Garry Jacobson Kelly Nissan 13 43.1069s

Race three result

Pos Driver Team Car Laps Gap
1 Chaz Mostert Tickford Ford 25 51m50.0007s
2 Jamie Whincup Triple Eight Holden 25 1.2112s
3 Tim Slade Brad Jones Holden 25 1.9076s
4 David Reynolds Erebus Holden 25 2.3881s
5 Fabian Coulthard DJR Penske Ford 25 3.6410s
6 Scott Pye Walkinshaw Holden 25 4.8948s
7 Will Davison 23Red Racing Ford 25 5.2699s
8 James Courtney Walkinshaw Holden 25 8.6577s
9 Nick Percat Brad Jones Holden 25 9.4928s
10 Andre Heimgartner Kelly Nissan 25 9.9821s
11 Anton De Pasquale Erebus Holden 25 10.3043s
12 Lee Holdsworth Tickford Ford 25 10.6846s
13 Mark Winterbottom Schwerkolt Holden 25 10.8525s
14 Todd Hazelwood Matt Stone Holden 25 11.3706s
15 Jack Le Brocq Tekno Holden 25 12.2328s
16 Rick Kelly Kelly Nissan 25 12.5768s
17 Richie Stanaway GRM Holden 25 12.9103s
18 Simona de Silvestro Kelly Nissan 25 12.9279s
19 James Golding GRM Holden 25 13.6933s
20 Garry Jacobson Kelly Nissan 25 16.1471s
21 Macauley Jones Blanchard/BJR Holden 25 16.7495s
22 Shane van Gisbergen Triple Eight Holden 23 2 Laps
- Cameron Waters Tickford Ford 0 Not started
- Scott McLaughlin DJR Penske Ford 0 Not started

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