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Scott McLaughlin insists controversies don't sour Supercars title

Scott McLaughlin insists his Supercars title win has not been tarnished by DJR Team Penske's Bathurst 1000 controversies, but admitted he 'kept a lid' on his championship celebrations

A ninth place from the back of the grid in the Sandown 500 was enough to give McLaughlin a second straight title.

He is now 550 points clear of Shane van Gisbergen with just 300 points on offer from the Newcastle finale, having won 18 of the year's 30 races so far.

But there were no raucous celebrations from McLaughlin and his crew as he clinched the crown, the team opting to keep a low profile amid a fresh controversy from its recent Bathurst win.

It was confirmed on Sunday morning that McLaughlin's Bathurst qualifying engine failed post-event technical checks, the engine exceeding the maximum valve lift by 0.0025 inches.

As a result he was stripped of his pole and his record-breaking shootout lap, while the team was fined $30,000. He and co-driver Alex Premat were put to the back of the Sandown grid.

It follows the Fabian Coulthard team orders controversy that earned the team a $250,000 fine, $100,000 of which is suspended, for an 'Obligation of Fairness' rules breach.

McLaughlin was adamant the latest penalties did not take the shine off his title.

"Nope. I don't care what anyone else thinks," he said.

"I'm proud of what we've done as a team. There's always conjecture, and basically I think the majority of the people are upset about our year.

"And they have been from the start when we started winning.

"Whatever. We push on as a team.

"I'm proud of what we've done. I'm proud of winning Bathurst and I'm proud of winning the championship.

"Off-track it's been political. Unfortunately for the sport it's been like that all year.

"We're just going to have to push on and fight them off, because I think we've fought off a lot this year. And I think we've done a good job to stay together as a team."

McLaughlin did admit that the timing of the latest penalty prompted a subdued reaction to sealing the title.

"We're just keeping a lid on it," he said.

"I think we're all disappointed with the result. It's one of those deals, you've got to accept the stewards' decision, whether you agree with it or not. A quarter of a sheet of paper is a pretty small amount...

"We'll celebrate. But we don't want to take anything away from Triple Eight and what they did [by winning Sandown]. We've got our time to celebrate in Newcastle, and bloody oath we will.

"For me it's awesome. It'll all sink in, how big it is. Right now I'm just keeping a lid on it, but I'm really proud.

"To win back-to-back is something that I'm very proud of, and my family is very proud of as well."

When asked if there would be any mid-week celebrations, McLaughlin added: "I'll just go with my friends, away from this toxic paddock."

But he insisted that atmosphere had not affected his overall feelings about Supercars.

"I love it. I've turned a hobby into a profession and I really enjoy it," he said.

"But there are certain individuals that don't agree with what we do as a team, and what we stand for.

"We've worked very hard to build a great car after the [ZB] Holden came out and was a pretty sensational car last year, and we bounced back and had a big crack and it's landed pretty badly in their mouths.

"I'm proud of our guys. We've fought through and there's been a tremendous amount of changes on each car in the paddock and we've managed to go alright."

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