Mobil 1™ Boost Mobile Racing has started the 2018 season on a fantastic note courtesy of a podium finish for James Courtney, and a top 10 result for Scott Pye in the first race of the year.
The day started on the right foot when Courtney qualified his car No. 25 in third position in the top-10 shootout, narrowly missing out on a front row start.
Attention quickly turned to the 250km journey around the streets of Adelaide to kick off the year.
JC was lightning quick off the line, momentarily taking the lead before being forced to yield around the outside, slotting into second.
A flawless stop by the boys in the lane at the end of the first stint saw him leapfrog McLaughlin through strategy, taking over the lead of the race.
Fastest lap after fastest lap in the middle stint gave him enough of a buffer to hold off McLaughlin at the second round of stops, but unfortunately, when Shane van Gisbergen stopped a few laps later, he was able to jump the two of them, and take over the lead.
JC gave it absolutely everything for the last 30 laps, but just couldn’t quite challenge for the win, bringing it home in second, straight, and ready for tomorrow.
For Scott, the day was also a positive. After qualifying in position 13, hindered by being blocked in his flying lap, he was able to move up to 10th by the end of the 72 laps.
He went the opposite strategy to JC, pitting on the first lap for fuel, before going long in the middle stint.
To grab a podium position and a top-10 in the first race of the year is a great reward for the hard work that has occurred over the break.
Now we reset and do it all again tomorrow, with a qualifying session in the morning, before the top-10 shootout and 250km race, which gets underway at 3:20pm local time.
James Courtney
“Today was a fantastic start for Mobil 1 Boost Mobile Racing and of course for Walkinshaw Andretti United.
“It’s the start of a long journey, but it’s great that it’s begun so well. I can’t wait to do it all again tomorrow.
“Typically, we go well here anyway, but the car was really strong, it was easy to drive, and it was extremely consistent and predictable.
“Shane just had that little bit more than me at the end but it’s still a great result, and a great reward for everyone’s hard work over the break.”
Scott Pye
“Today was a solid day, it was good to move forward into the top 10.
“Getting caught up in qualifying and missing our best lap really set the tone for us unfortunately. We had good car speed, the balance was good, we just couldn’t make our way forward as much as we had hoped.
“I hope to qualify better tomorrow and aim towards a top 5 finish.”